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MYSTICAL    PEE»J4^t&.«!5 


A  VINDICATION  OF  THE 


REFORMED  OR  CALVINISTIC  DOCTRINE 


OF    THE 


HOLY  EUCHARIST. 


BY    THE 


REV.   JOHN   W.   NEVIN,   D.D. 

PROF,    OF    THEOL.   IN    THE    SEMINARY   OF    THE    GER.    REF.    CHURCH. 


*  •»»■»- 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    &D    Co. 

1846. 


Entered  according  to  tlic  Act  of  Congress^  in  the  year  1S46,  by 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  &  Co., 

in  the  clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and  for  the 
eastern  district  of  Pennsylvania. 


nilLADELrHIA: 
KING     AND     BAIRD,     rUINTERS, 

No.   0  George    Street. 


PREFACE. 


The  following  work  has  grown  directly  out  of  some  contro- 
versy which  has  had  place,  during  the  past  year,  in  the  German 
Reformed  Church,  on  the  subject  to  which  it  relates.  This  stands 
related  to  it,  however,  only  as  an  external  occasion,  and  has  not 
been  permitted  to  come  into  view,  in  any  way,  in  the  work  itself. 

It  is  not  felt  that  any  apology  is  needed  for  the  publication. — 
This  is  found  in  the  importance  of  its  subject,  which  must  be  left 
of  course  to  speak  for  itself. 

As  the  Eucharist  forms  the  very  heart  of  the  whole  Christian 
worship,  so  it  is  clear  that  the  entire  question  of  the  Church,  which 
all  are  compelled  to  acknowledge,  the  great  life-problem  of  the  age, 
centres  ultimately  in  the  sacramental  question  as  its  inmost  heart 
and  core.  Our  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper  must  ever  condition 
and  rule  in  the  end  our  view  of  Christ's  person  and  the  concep- 
tion we  form  of  the  Church.  It  must  influence  at  the  same  time, 
very  materially,  our  whole  system  of  theology,  as  well  as  all  our 
ideas  of  ecclesiastical  history. 

Is  it  true  that  the  modern  Protestant  Church  in  this  country  has, 
in  large  part  at  least,  fallen  away  from  the  sacramental  doctrine  of 
the  sixteenth  century  ?  All  must  at  least  allow,  that  there  is  some 
room  for  asking  the  question.  If  so,  it  is  equally  plain  that  it  is 
a  question  which  is  entitled  to  a  serious  answer.  For  in  the  na- 
ture of  the  case,  such  a  falling  away,  if  it  exist  at  all,  must  be 
connected  with  a  still  more  general  removal  from  the  original  plat- 
form of  the  Church.     The  eucharistic  doctrine  of  the  sixteenth 


4  PREFACE. 

century  was  interwoven  with  tlic  whole  church  system  of  the 
time  ;  to  give  it  up,  then,  must  involve  in  the  end  a  renunciation 
in  principle,  if  not  in  profession,  of  this  system  itself  in  its  radi- 
cal, distinctive  constitution.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  no  material 
change  has  taken  place,  it  is  due  to  an  interest  of  such  high  con- 
sequence that  this  should  be  satisfactorily  done.  Or  if  the  change 
should  be  allowed,  and  still  vindicated  as  a  legitimate  advance  on 
the  original  Protestant  faith,  let  this  ground  be  openly  and  con- 
sciously taken.  Let  us  know,  at  least,  where  we  are  and  what 
we  actually  do  believe,  in  the  case  of  this  central  question,  as 
compared  with  the  theological  stand-point  of  our  Catechisms  and 
Confessions  of  Faith. 

The  relations  of  this  inquiry  to  the  question  concerning  the 
true  idea  of  the  Church,  will  easily  be  felt  by  every  well-informed 
and  reflecting  mind.  If  the  fact  of  the  incarnation  be  indeed  the 
principle  and  source  of  a  new  supernatural  order  of  life  for  hu- 
manity itself,  the  Church,  of  course,  is  no  abstraction.  It  must 
be  a  true,  living,  divine-human  constitution  in  the  world ;  strictly 
organic  in  its  nature — not  a  device  or  contrivance  ingeniously  fit- 
ted to  serve  certain  purposes  beyond  itself — but  the  necessary, 
essential  form  of  Christianity,  in  whose  presence  only  it  is  possi- 
ble to  conceive  intelligently  of  piety  in  its  individual  manifesta- 
tions. The  life  of  the  single  Christian  can  be  real  and  healthful 
only  as  it  is  born  from  the  general  life  of  the  Church,  and  car- 
ried by  it  onward  to  the  end.  We  are  Christians  singly,  by  par- 
taking (having  ;;f/r/)  in  the  general  life-revelation,  which  is  already 
at  hand  organically  in  the  Church,  the  living  and  life-giving  body 
of  Jesus  Christ.  As  thus  real  and  organic,  moreover,  Christianity 
7nust  be  historical.  No  higher  wrong  can  be  done  to  it  than  to 
call  in  question  its  true  historical  character ;  for  this  is,  in  fact, 
to  turn  it  into  a  phantasm,  and  to  overthrow  the  solid  fact-basis  on 
which  its  foundations  eternally  rest.  It  must  be  historical,  too, 
under  the  form  of  the  Church;  for  the  rcalncss  of  Christianity 
demands  indispensably  the  presence  of  the  general  life  of  Christ, 
flowing  with  unbroken  continuity  from  the  beginning  as  the  me- 
dium of  all  particular  union  with  him  from  age  to  age.  Then, 
again,  the  historical  Church  must  be  visible,  or  in  other  words, 


PREFACE. 


not  merely  ideal,  but  actual.  The  actual  may  indeed  fall  short 
immeasurably  of  the  idea  it  represents ;  the  visible  Church  may 
be  imperfect,  corrupt,  false  to  its  own  conception  and  calling;  but 
still  an  actual,  continuously  visible  Church  there  must  always  be 
in  the  world,  if  Christianity  is  to  have  either  truth  or  reality  in 
the  form  of  a  new  creation.  A  purely  invisible  Church  has  been 
well  denominated  a  contradictio  in  adjecto;  since  the  very  idea 
of  a  Church  implies  the  manifestation  of  the  religious  life,  as  some- 
thing social  and  common. 

The  whole  conception  that  the  externalization  of  the  Christian 
life  is  something  accidental  only  to  the  constitution  of  this  life  it- 
self— a  sort  of  mechanical  machinery,  to  help  it  forward  in  an  out- 
ward way — is  exceedingly  derogatory  to  the  Church,  and  injurious 
in  its  bearings  on  religion.  An  outward  Church  is  the  necessary 
form  of  the  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus,  in  its  very  nature ;  and 
must  continue  to  be  so,  not  only  through  all  time,  but  through  all 
eternity  likewise.  Outward  social  worship,  which  implies,  of 
course,  forms  for  the  purpose,  is  to  be  regarded  as  something  es- 
sential to  piety  itself.  A  religion  without  externals,  must  ever  be 
fantastic  and  false.  The  simple  utterance  of  religious  feeling,  by 
which  the  spirit  takes  outward  form,  is  needed,  not  for  something 
beyond  itself,  but  for  the  perfection  of  the  feeling  itself.  Forms, 
in  this  sense,  not  as  sundered  from  inward  life,  of  course,  but  as 
embracing  it,  enter  as  a  constituent  element  into  the  very  life  of 
Christianity.  As  a  real,  human,  historical  constitution  in  the 
world,  the  outward  and  inward  in  the  Church  can  never  be  di- 
vorced, without  peril  to  all  that  is  most  precious  in  the  Christian 
faith.  We  have  no  right  to  set  the  inward  in  opposition  to  the 
outward,  the  spiritual  in  opposition  to  the  corporeal,  in  religion. 
The  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  it  is  the  principle,  forms 
also  the  true  measure  and  test,  of  all  sound  Christianity,  in  this 
view.  To  be  real,  the  human,  as  such,  and  of  course  the  divine 
also  in  human  form,  must  ever  externalize  its  inward  life.  All 
thought,  all  feeling,  every  spiritual  state,  must  take  body,  (in  the 
Avay  of  word,  or  outward  form  of  some  sort,)  in  order  to  come 
at  all  to  any  true  perfection  in  itself.  This  is  the  proper,  deep 
sense  of  all  liturgical  services  in  religion.     The  necessity  here 

1* 


6  PREFACE. 

affirmed  is  universal.  The  more  intensely  spiritual  any  slate 
may  be,  the  more  irresistibly  urgent  will  ever  be  found  its  ten- 
dency to  clothe  itself,  and  make  itself  complete,  in  a  suitable  ex- 
ternal form.  Away  with  the  imagination,  then,  that  externals  in 
Christianity,  (including  the  conception  of  the  visible  Church  it- 
self,) are  something  accidental  only  to  its  true  constitution,  a  cun- 
ningly framed  device  merely  for  advancing  some  interest  foreign 
from  themselves.  To  think  of  the  Church,  and  of  Christian  wor- 
ship, as  means  simply  to  something  else,  is  to  dishonour  religion 
itself  in  the  most  serious  manner. 

If  the  present  work  may  serve  to  fix  attention  on  the  momen- 
tous point  with  which  it  is  concerned,  and  thus  contribute  indi- 
rectly even  to  a  clearer  understanding  of  Protestant  truth,  I  shall 
feel  that  it  has  not  been  written  in  vain.  May  God  accept  it,  and 
crown  it  with  his  blessing.  J.  W.  N. 

Mercersburg,  April,  1846. 


CONTENTS. 


PRELIMINzVRY  ESSAY.— Translation  from  Ullman. 

ON   THE   DISTINCTIVE    CHARACTER    OF    CHRISTIANITY. 

Object  and  Nature  of  the  Inquiry,     .  ....  13 

Historical  Forms  of  Christianity. — Parallel  in  the  general  progress  of 

Modern  Reflection  on  its  nature,  .  .  .  .  .15 

Conception  of  Christianity  as  Doctrine,  ....  19 

Conception  of  Christianity  as  Moral  Law,  .  .  .  .23 

Schleiermacher's  view  of  it  as  the  Religion  of  Redemption,    .  .  24 

True  Distinction. — Christ's  Person, — Doctrine  of  the  Divine  and  Hu- 
man in  the  form  of  Life,  .  .  .  .  .  .27 

Hegel  and  the  Modern  Speculation,      .....  39 

Actual  constitution  of  Christianity,  as  the  union  of  God  and  Humanity 

through  Christ,      ........       33 

Contrast  with  Heathenism  and  Judaism,  ....  34 

Christianity  the  Absolute  Religion,  in  which  all  others  culminate.     The 

Religion  of  Humanity ,     .  .  .  .  .  .  .37 

True  centre  of  the  Christian  system,  from  which  all  its  parts  gain  their 

right  portion  and  light,  .  .  .  .  .  .39 

Recapitulation. — Mysticism  and  Reformation,       .  .  .  .43 


CHAPTER  I. 

REFORMED   OR    CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF   THE   LORD'S   SUPPER. 

Introductory  Remarks. — Importance  of  the  Eucharistic  Question. — Six- 
teenth Century. — Modern  Protestantism. — Claims  of  the  subject,  .       51 

SiicT.  I. — Statement  of  the  Doctrine. 

Authority  of  Calvin  in  the  Reformed  Church,  ...  54 

Relation  of  the  doctrine  to  the  view  taken  of  Christ's  union  generally 

with  his  people,    .  .  .  .  ...  .  .54 

Distinctions  on  the  side  towards  Rationalism  ;  the  participation  of  the 
believer  in  Christ,  not  common  relationship  only  to  Adam;  not  a 
merely  moral  union  ;  not  a  union  in  larv  simply  ;  not  communion 
with  his  divine  nature  alone  or  with  the  Holy  Ghost  as  his  representa- 
tive ;  but  a  real  communication  with  his  substantial,  personal,  media- 
torial life,         ........  5o 


8  CONTENTS. 

The  doctrine  bounded  on  ihc  opposite  side. — "Noi  trarrsubslantiaUon  ; 
nor  consuhstantiation. — Real  conjunction  with  Christ,  through  faith, 
by  the  Spirit,        ........ 

Grace  of  the  Sacrament  o&;ccfzi;^;  including  the  actual  life  of  Clirist, 
particularly  in  its  human  character,  ..... 

Sect.  II. — Hisloncal  Evidence. 

Reformed  doctrine  gradually  established. — Relation  of  Zuingli  to  the 

Church. — His  view  of  the  Sacrament,     .  .  .  .  .03 

Early  Helvetic  Church. — Confession  of  Basel. — First  Helvetic  Confes- 
sion,    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  65 

Calvin  — Extracts  from  his  Institutes. — Catechism  of  Geneva,     .  .       67 

Tract  De  vera ^arf^f^■/)a^^07^<?,  against  Hesshuss,  .  .  '.  71 

Common  misrepresentation  of  Calvin's  view. — His  own  statement  of  it 

clear  and  full. — Te?;timony  of  Schleierrnacher,  .  .  .73 

Farel  and  Beza. — Colloquy  of  Worms,  ....  75 

Beza  and  Peter  Martyr. — Conference  at  Poissy,     .  .  .  .76 

Gallic  Confession. — Old   Scotch  Confession. — Belgic  Confession. — Se- 

cond  Helvetic  Confession,       ......  79 

Heidelberg  Catechism. — Circumstances  of  its  formation. — Extracts. — 

Commentary  on  their  sense,         .  .  ,  .  .  .S3 

Ursinus,  the  author  of  the  Catechism. — His  sacramental  doctrine  as 

exhibited  by  himself,  ......  90 

Hospinian. — General  testimony,     .  .  .  .  .  .94 

The  Synod  of  Dort,         •...;..  95 

Westminster  Confession, — Note  on  Church  of  England,  .  .       96 

Testimony  of  Hooker,  .......  98 

Extracts  from  Owen,  the  oracle  of  the  Independents,        ,  .  .101 


CHAPTER   II. 

BIODERN    PURITAN    THEORY. 

Sect.  I. — Historical  Exhibition. 

Falling  away  from  the  creed  of  the  Reformation. — Most  striking  in  the 
American  Lutheran  Church. — Note  on  the  so  called  Lutheran  Obscr- 

ver, jOy 

Same  evil  in  the  Reformed  Church. — Baptists— Prevalence  of  the  bap- 

tistic  principle. — Sect  system,      .  .  .  ,  ^  .107 

Extracts  from  Ilidgely's  Body  of  Divinity,         .             •'.'.'  109 

President  Edwards. — Hopkins. — Bellamy,               .             .       *      .       '  j  |q 

Extracts  from  Dwight's  Theology,         .'           .             .             ^      *  11'^ 

Extracts  from  Dick's  Theology,       .             .             .             ,       *             *  i.o 

Dr.  Green. — Barnes' Commentary,        .             .             .             •      '       .      '  113 

Sect.  II. — Systems  Contrasted. 

Difference  real  and  seriously  important,      .  .  .  ^  .117 

First  point. — The  Eucharist  as  related  to  other  services,          .      *             *  118 
Second  point. — Mijstcriomness  of  \.hp.  oTd\n:\ncG,                .       '      .              .US 

Third  point. — Idea  of  its  ohjcrtivc  value  or  force,         .      '       .      *       ,      *  jjo 

Fourth  point. — Communion  with  Christ's  ;)erson,                 .       '      .       '  jo-^ 

Fifth  point. — Participation  in  his  6orf(/ and  Wooc/,           .      '       .      "             '  \^i 

Claims  of  the  question  to  earnest  attention,            .             .       '      .       '  ]26 


CONTENTS. 


9 


Sect.  Ill — Faith  of  the  Early  Church. 

First  genera]  presumption  here  against  the  Modern  Puritan  view,  as  a 

departure  from  the  faith  of  the  orthodox  Church  in  all  ages,  .  127 

Under  all  confusion  and  variation  of  views  as  to  the  mode,  the  idea  of 
the  fact  has  ever  been  the  same  ;  namely,  that  the  Eucharist  involves 
a  real  communion  with  Christ's  life,        .....     128 

Only  such  a  faith  could  have  been  carried,  by  abuse,  into  the  gross  error 

of  transubstantiation,  .  .  .  .  .  .  129 

The  idea  of  an  offering  for  sin. — Atonement  viewed  as  real,  only  as  ap- 

prehended  in  Christ's  person,      ......     130 

Testimony  of  Ignatius. — Justin  Martyn,  ....  131 

Irenaeus. — The  view  of  these  fathers  most  general,  .  .  .     132 

Tertullian  and  Cyprian,  .......  133 

Alexandrian  fathers. — Clement. — Origen,  .....     134 

Cyril  of  Jerusalem. — Chrysostom,  .....  135 

Ambrose. — Augustine,         .  .  .  .  .  .  .135 

In  rejecting  transubstantiation,  the   Reformers  still  acknowledged  the 

authority  of  the  early  church,  and  appealed  to  the  fathers,  .  138 


Sect.  IV. — Rationalism  and  the  Sects. 

Second  general  presumption   against  the  Modern    Puritan    view ;    its 

affinity  with  the  rationalistic  tendency,  theoretic  and  practical,  .  139 

Socinianism  of  the  Sixteenth  Century,  .....  139 

Arminianism  in  the  Seventeenth  Century,  ....  140 

Neological  Rationalism  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,      .  .  .  141 

General  want  of  faith  in  this  period,  .....  142 

Note  on  Storr  and  Reinhard,      ......  143 

Extracts  from  Mursinna,  Doederlein,  Knapp,         ....  144 

Henke. — Wegscheider. — Bretschneider,  ....  145 

Rationalistic  Supranaturalism. — Its  end,     .....  146 

Sect  principle. — Its  affinity  with  Rationalism,  ....  147 

Hyper-spiritualism  ends  always  in  the  flesh,  ....  148 

Anabaptists. — Quakers,  ......  149 

Baplistic  principle. — Sure  index  of  schism  and  heresy,     .  .  .  149 

Association  of  thp  Modern  Puritan  view  with  this  false  tendency,  a  just 

ground  for  jealousy,    .......  151 


CHAPTER  III. 

SCIENTIFIC   STATEBIENT. 

Need  of  some  formal  modification,  in  the  statement  of  the  doctrine, 


155 


Sect.  I. — Preliminary  Positions. 

The  Calvinistic  theory  not  sufficiently  clear,  in  the  conception  of  life  as 

an  organic  law,  .......  156 

Fails  to  insist  properly  on  the  absolute  unity  which  belongs  to  the  idea 

oi^  person,  ........     157 

Comes  to  no  clear  representation  of  the  distinction,  between  life  as 

something  individual  and  life  as  generic,       ....  160 

These  three  points  of  great  account,  as  it  regards  the  apprehension  of 

the  doctrine,         ........     161 


10 


CONTENTS. 


Skct.  II. — Theses  on  the  Mystical  Union. 

The  race  hopelessly  lost  in  Adam,        ..... 
This  ruin  includes  soul  and  lody,    ..... 
Human  nature  recovered  in  Jesus  Christ,  .... 

The  value  of  Christ's  whole  life  and  death,  based  on  the  generic  char 

acter  of  his  humanity,      ...... 

The  Christian  Salvation  a  new^  Life,      ..... 

This  life  in  all  respects  Human,      ..... 

The  extension  of  it  in  the  Church,         ..... 

Our  union  with  Christ  consists  in  oneness  of  life,    . 

More  intimate  and  deep  than  our  union  with  the  first  Adam, 

Includes  necessarily  a  participation  in  the  entire  Humanity  of  Christ, 

Embraces  also  the  whole  person  of  the  believer, 

All  the  result  of  a  single  undivided  process, 

No  material  contact  in  the  case,  ..... 

No  ubiquity  of  Christ's  body  ;  no  loss  of  his  proper  separate  personality 

This  union  goes  beyond  every  other  that  is  known  in  the  world,  . 

Wrought  only  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 

Only  through  the  instrumentality  of  faith. 

The  new  life  is  a  process,  which  will  become  complete  finally  in  the 

resurrection,  ........ 


1G4 
164 
165 


Sect.  III. — Theses  on  the  LorcVs  Supper. 

Nature  of  a  Sacrament ,       ....... 

The  Lord's  Supper  a  participation  in  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  and 
so  of  all  his  benefits,   ....... 

The  Lord's  Supper  has  reference  directly  to  the  idea  of  atonement,  as 
wrought  out  by  Christ's  death,     ...... 

As  imparting  however  a  real  interest  in  this,  it  involves  a  real  commu- 
nication with  the  life  of  Christ,  ..... 

This  extends  to  his  xchole  person,    ...... 

The  eucharist  as  such  the  channel  of  this  grace. 

The  communication  always  through  the  soul,  in  a  central  way,   . 

Holds  only  in  the  case  of  believers,      ..... 

Excludes  transubstantiation  and  consubstantiation, 

Skct.  IV. — False  Theories  Exposed. 

Every  lower  view  of  the  Mystical  Union  more  or  less  rationalistic  and 
self-destructive,  ....... 

The  Socinian  hypothesis,         ....... 

The  Pelagian  hypothesis,  ...... 

The  theory  of  a  divine  "  moral  suasion,"  .  .  .  , 

Abstract  legal  imputation,  ...... 

The  Spirit  as  a  surrogate  for  Christ's  presence  ;  in  the  way  of  influence 
only  ;  or  in  the  way  of  new  creation,      .... 

The  idea  of  divided  oersonalitv,  ..... 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BIBLICAL    AncUMENt. 

Sect.  I. — The  Incarnation. 

The  Incarnation  the  key  to  all  God's   works  and  ways— Nature  and 

Man,  .........     199 


CONTENTS. 


11 


Relation  of  Christ  to  Humanity, 
History  looks  always  to  the  same  centre,   . 
Paganism,  negatively  prophetical  of  Christ, 
Judaism  a  positive  preparation  for  his  coming, 


200 
201 
202 
203 


Sect.  II. — The  New  Creation. 

Relation  of  Christianity  to  previous  life,  ....  205 

Historical,  and  yet  supernatural  and  new,  ....  206 

A  divine  creation  in  the  world,  .....  207 

Judaism  the  shadow  only  of  what  now  became  real  in  Christ,      .  .  207 

Christianity  the  absolute  truth,  .....  207 

Christ's  person  the  great  miracle  by  which  his  mission  authenticates 

itself,       ' 208 


Sect.  III. — The  Second  Adam. 


Christ  a  real  man, 

His  humanity  generic. 

Parallel  betw-een  Christ  and  Adam, 


210 
210 
211 


Sect.  IV. — Chrislianily  a  Life. 

Distinctive  nature  of  Christianity,  . 

The  Ebionetic  stand  point,        .... 

Testimony  of  the  Evangelist  John, 

Declarations  of  the  Saviour  himself, 

Christ  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life, 

Testimony  of  the  Apostle  Paul, 

The  morality  of  the  gospel  based  always  on  this  view. 


213 

213 
214 
215 
216 
218 
220 


Sect.  V. — The  Mystical  Union. 

Christ  the  principle  and  ground  of  the  entire  Christian  life 

The  Spirit  under  the  New  Testament,        .... 

Twofold  aspect  of  Christ's  person,  as  exhibited  in  the  flesh  and  in  the 

Spirit,  ....... 

His  life  in  the  Spirit  flows  over  into  the  persons  of  his  people. 

His  presence  by  the  Spirit  involves  his  personal  presence, 

His  existence  in  the  Spirit  includes  his  full  humanity  as  well  as  his 

divinity,    .  .  .  .  • 

The  spiritual  or  pneumatic  body. 
Proper  conception  of  the  resurrection. 
Nature  of  the  mystical  union,    .... 
Allegory  of  the  vine  and  its  branches. 
Allegory  of  the  body  and  its  members. 
Illustration  from  the  idea  of  marriage. 
Striking  phraseology  of  the  New  Testament,    . 
Christians  complete  in  Christ, 
Olshausen  on  Rom,  viii.  30,        .... 


221 

222 

228 
224 
225 

226 
226 
228 
229 
229 
230 
231 
233 
233 
234 


Sect.  YI.— John  vi.  56—58. 

Importance  of  the  passage, 

Christ  the  bread  of  life,  .... 

Advance  upon  the  general  thought, 
Correspondence  with  the  idea  of  the  eucharist. 


237 
238 
'238 
239 


13  CONTENTS. 

Reference  directly  to  the  atonement ;  but  to  this  as  comprehended  in 

Christ's  life,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .239 

The  life  only,  gives  reality  and  force  to  the  atonement,           .             .  240 

All  by  the  Spirit,  not  in  the  flesh,    ......  241 

Bearing  on  the  eucharistic  question,      .....  242 

Skct.  VII. — The  Lm'CCs  Supper. 

True  method  of  using  the  Scriptures,        .....  244 
Christianity  a  real  supernatural  constitution   in  the  world. — This  must 

be/f/^  to  judge  properly  of  the  Sacraments,              .             .             .  246 

Relation  of  the  Passover  to  the  Lord's  Supper,      ....  249 

The  Institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper,              .....  251 

The  Reality  of  all  that  was  Shadow,  in  the  Jewish  Sacrament,     .  ^         .  252 

Communion  in  the  covenant  only  by  communion  in  the  sacrifice,       .  253 

Passage,  1  Cor.  x.  16,           .             .             .             •             .             .             .  254 

Passage,  Eph.  v.  30-32,             ......  254 


PRELIMINARY   ESSAY. 


L\  the  January  number  of  the  Theologische  Sludien  uml 
Kritiken,  for  1845,  there  is  an  admirable  article,  from  the  pen 
of  Br.  C.  Ullmcmn,*  Professor  in  Heidelberg,  on  "The  Dis- 
tinctive Character  of  Christianity,"  well  worthy  of  being 
carefully  studied  by  all  who  take  an  interest  in  the  present  slate 
of  the  Church.  It  has  occurred  to  me,  that  I  cannot  do  better 
in  the  way  of  introducing  the  present  work,  than  to  furnish  here 
a  full  abstract,  or  a  free  compressed  translation  rather  of  its  valu- 
able contents. 

1. 

Christianity,  in  its  substantial  contents,  has  been  always  the 
same.  The  form  of  its  apprehension  however,  on  the  part  of  the 
Church,  has  varied  with  the  onward  progress  of  its  history.  At  the 
start,  it  was  the  fresh  life  of  childhood,  without  reflection.  The 
first  germs  of  a  Christian  theology,  its  great  leading  doctrines 
separately  taken,  were  gradually  produced  during  the  first  centu- 
ries, in  the  way  of  apologetic  controversy  with  surrounding 
errors.  From  the  fourth  century,  the  entire  intellectual  strength 
of  the  Church  appears  devoted  to  the  object  of  settling  and 
establishing  particular  doctrines  ;  still  however  only  in  their  sepa- 
rate form.     The  Scholastic  period  of  the  middle  ages,  took  up 

*  The  dislinguished  author  of  the  work  Reformatoren  vor  der  Reformation  ; 
for  full  historical  knowledge,  comprehensive  views,  clear,  calm  retiection, 
and  masterly  power  of  representation,  one  of  the  finest  living  writers  cer- 
tainly of  Germany.  The  article  here  noticed  has  been  published  also  as  a 
separate  pamphlet,  and  seems  to  have  attracted  more  than  usual  attention.  A 
new  work,  I  may  add,  is  recently  announced  from  the  same  writer  under  the 
interesting  title,  The  Church  of  the  Future,  in  which  no  doubt  the  same  views 
are  more  fully  exhibited. 

9.  * 


14  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 

what  was  thus  fixed  in  the  way  of  faith,  and  laboured  to  reduce 
all  to  a  general  system.  Throughout  this  whole  progress  of 
theological  development,  however,  the  distinctive  constitution  of 
Christianity  itself,  as  compared  with  other  forms  of  religion,  can 
hardly  be  said  to  have  come  into  view.  Even  the  Bcformers  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  thorougldy  imbued  as  they  were  with  its 
living  spirit,  were  too  fully  occupied  with  the  work  of  setting  it 
free  from  church  oppression,  to  bestow  much  reflection  on  this 
point.  The  question  has  been  reserved  for  the  Modern  Period^ 
which  has  felt  itself  urged  moreover,  by  its  philosophical  and 
historical  cultivation  in  particular,  to  direct  towards  it  a  large 
measure  of  its  attention.  During  the  last  fifty  years,  numerous 
attempts  have  been  made  to  determine  the  characteristic  nature 
and  genius  of  Christianity  ;  of  very  different  tendency  of  course, 
reflecting  always  the  theological  life  under  whose  influence  they 
were  formed.  Thus  Storr  made  the  distinction  to  consist  mainly 
in  the  supernatural,  the  miraculous,  the  positive,  as  comprehended 
in  the  Christian  religion;  Herder,  in  its  character  of  universal 
humanity  ;  Chafeaubriand,  in  its  sublime  and  captivating  beauty. 
But  we  owe  it  to  the  christological  struggles  of  our  ou  n  time  in 
particular,  that  the  specific  nature  of  Christianity,  and  its  inmost^ 
constitution,  have  begun  to  come  more  freely  into  the  light,  than 
ever  before. 

The  theological  position  of  the  present  time  maybe  considered 
especially  favourable,  for  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  truth  in 
the  case  of  the  im^x)rlant  inquiry  here  brought  into  view.  It 
has  been  too  common  heretofore,  to  proceed  on  some  particular 
conception  of  Christianity,  as  Primitive,  Catholic,  Protestant, 
Slc.  ;  by  which,  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  a  single  liistorical  sta- 
dium, arbitrarily  bounded  according  to  the  pleasure  of  the  inquirer, 
has  been  made  to  stand  for  the  idea  of  the  whole ;  thus  causing 
certain  phases  of  the  system,  its  divinity  for  instance,  or  its 
humanity,  its  doctrinal,  or  its  ethical,  or  it  may  be  its  a:slhctic 
character  only,  to  represent  the  general  life  of  which  each  could 
be  said  to  form  but  a  single  side.  Now  however,  as  the  result 
of  our  historical  cultivation  itself,  we  stand  on  higher  ground. 
AVe  are  able  to  take  a  comprehensive  survey  of  Christianity  as  • 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  15 

an  organic  whole,  under  all  the  aspects  in  which  it  is  presented 
to  our  view,  in  its  origin,  and  throughout  the  entire  stream  of  its 
development,  down  to  the  present  time.  In  this  way,  it  is 
made  much  more  easy  than  before,  to  reach  the  true  life  centre 
of  the  whole,  and  to  recognize  the  beating  heart  from  which  all 
has  been  formed,  and  that  still  continues  to  animate  all  perpetu- 
ally in  its  several  parts. 

When  we  speak  of  the  distinctive  character  of  Christianity, 
it  implies  the  idea  of  something  general  as  well  as  particular  in 
its  constitution.  As  general  it  is  religion;  as  particular  the 
Christian  religion.  But  these  two  conceptions,  in  this  case,  are 
bound  inseparably  together.  We  cannot  so  abstract  from  Chris- 
tianity its  particular  specific  character,  as  to  leave  the  general 
idea  of  religion  behind.  It  must  exist  under  the  specific  form 
which  belongs  to  it,  or  it  is  nothing,  a  mere  abstraction,  destitute 
of  all  reality.  Christianity  is  not  religion  in  the  first  place,  with 
something  added  to  it  to  make  it  Christianity ;  but  as  religion 
itself,  it  is  at  the  same  time  in  its  inmost  ground,  this  particular 
form  of  religion,  exclusively  complete  in  its  own  nature,  and  dif- 
ferent in  all  its  parts,  by  the  spirit  which  pervades  the  whole,  from 
every  other  religion.  As  thus  individual  and  general  at  once,  it 
claims  to  be  the  absolute  truth  itself;  not  a  religion  simply,  as 
one  among  many,  but  the  one,  universal,  all  perfect  religion  of 
humanity  in  its  widest  sense.  Essential  and  specific  here  flow 
together,  and  cannot  be  kept  asunder. 

2. 

It  belongs  to  the  modern  period,  we  have  said,  that  it  has  come 
to  exercise  a  conscious  reflection  on  the  nature  of  Christianity. 
This  reflection  has  its  history,  its  regular  development  from  one 
stage  still  forward  to  another.  This  will  be  found  to  correspond 
strikingly,  only  with  vast  difl^erence  as  to  time,  with  the  historical 
conformations  under  which  the  Christian  life  itself  has  appeared, 
from  period  to  period,  since  its  first  revelation  in  the  world.  The 
spirit  of  Christianity  has  been  carried  first  in  a  real  way,  by  an 
evolution  of  many  centuries,  through  the  same  phases,  that  have 


16  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 

since  been  repeated,  with  more  rapid  succcession,  in  the  modern 
eflbrt  to  determine  theoretically  in  what  this  spirit  consists. 

It  started,  as  before  remarked,  in  the  character  of  a  new  life. 
So  it  meets  us,  with  full  harmony  and  perfection,  in  the  person 
of  its  Founder.  So  it  is  exhibited  to  us  more  inadequately  in 
the  apostles  and  the  apostolical  churches.  The  mere  existence 
of  this  life  however  was  not  enough.  It  was  necessary  that  the 
Church  should  come  to  a  full  and  free  apprehension  of  what  it 
comprehended.  This  called  for  a  separation  of  its  elements, 
involving  necessarily  more  or  less  confusion  and  conflict  and  one- 
sided action,  as  the  only  process  by  which  it  was  possible,  in  the 
present  stale  of  the  world,  to  advance  from  the  simplicity  of 
childhood  to  the  consciousness  of  spiritual  manhood.  Hence  the 
long  course  of  development,  revealed  to  us  in  Church  History. 
In  this  process,  the  different  constituent  elements  or  forces  in- 
cluded in  Christianity  could  not,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  come 
in  promiscuously  at  one  time  for  such  share  of  attention  as  they 
were  entitled  to  claim.  Some  one  interest  must  still  take  the  lead 
of  another,  determined  by  the  general  character  of  the  time  ;  and 
thus  for  every  grand  period  in  history  we  have  a  particular  side 
of  Christianity  standing  forth  prominently  to  view  as  its  domi- 
nant characteristic  form  ;  till  in  the  end,  as  the  result  of  the 
whole  process,  all  such  single  and  separate  manifestations  may 
come  to  be  united  again  in  the  full  symmetrical  perfection  of  that 
one  glorious  life  to  which  they  severally  belong. 

The  process  now  mentioned  began  naturally  with  Doctrine^ 
which  it  was  attempted  to  settle  first  in  a  general  way,  and  then 
in  single  articles.  The  dogma  producing  period  extends  in  par- 
ticular, from  the  fourth  century  on  into  the  sixth.  For  this 
service  the  Grecian  mind,  which  was  then  predominant  in  the 
Church,  might  be  said  to  have  a  special  vocation.  With  the  fall 
of  the  old  world,  and  the  rise  of  a  new  life  among  the  western 
nations,  Christianity  was  required  to  exercise  its  power  in  a  dif- 
ferent way.  It  must  form  the  manners,  and  regulate  the  life  of 
the  rude  population  with  which  it  was  called  to  deal.  The  main 
interest  now  accordingly  was  its    moral  authority.     It  became 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  17 

ill  tlie  hands  particularly  of  the  Roman  Church,  a  system  of 
Law,  a  pedagogic  institute  for  the  government  of  the  nations. 
In  this  character  however,  it  only  made  room  for  itself  to  appear, 
with  new  life,  as  the  Gospel;  a  change  effected  chiefly  through 
the  German  spirit,  which  included  in  its  very  constitution  an 
evangelical  or  free  tendency,  and  was  gradually  prepared  to  assert 
its  ecclesiastical  independence  in  this  way.  With  the  Reforma- 
tion, the  mind  of  the  Church,  no  longer  in  its  minority,  forced 
its  way  back  to  the  proper  fountain-head  of  Christianity,  and 
laid  hold  of  it  in  the  form  of  Redemption ;  the  justification  of 
the  sinner  before  God,  and  the  principle  o{  freedom  for  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  justified  subject  himself  in  all  his  relations. 
Along  with  these  three  leading  conceptions  of  Christianity,  as 
doctrine,  as  a  system  of  law,  and  as  a  source  of  redemption 
and  spiritual  freedom,  we  find  still  a  fourth  unfolding  itself  from 
an  early  period,  with  steadily  increasing  strength.  It  is  the  view, 
which  makes  religion  to  consist  in  the  union  of  man  with  God, 
and  of  course  finds  in  this  the  distinctive  character  of  Christianity. 

•  .V. 

It  is  regarded  as  the  absolutely  perfect  religion,  because  it  unites 
the  divine  and  human  fully  as  one  life.  This  view  may  be 
traced  to  a  remote  antiquity,  but  comes  forward  more  decidedly 
in  the  mysticism  of  the  middle  ages,  and  appears  now  most  com- 
pletely revealed  in  the  philosophical  and  theological  speculation 
of  the  modern  time.  From  the  first  however,  it  has  exhibited 
itself  under  two  divergent  tendencies,  one  pantheistic,  and  the 
other  recognizing  a  personal  God.  Of  these,  the  first  has  be- 
come widely  prevalent  at  the  present  day  ;  but  the  last  must  be 
regarded  of  course  as  the  only  legitimate  form  of  thinking  in  the 
case,  and  may  be  expected  in  the  end  universally  to  prevail. 

Such  are  the  ground  types,  by  which  the  conception  of  Chris- 
tianity has  been  differently  moulded  under  different  circumstances. 
They  are  characteristically  represented  by  as  many  several  forms 
of  Church  life.  The  interest  of  doctrine  finds  its  proper  expres- 
sion in  the  Greek  Church,  self-styled  significantly  the  OrihodoXj 
the  Church  of  Christian  JJntiquit'ij,  As  a  (Hsciplinary  institute, 
the  Christian  system  has  its  fit  cliaracter  in  the  Roman  Church, 
with  its  claim  of  universal  authority,  challenging  for  itself  the 


18  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 

title  Catholic,  the  Church  of  the  Middle  ^ges.  To  the  idea  of 
redemption  and  freedom  answers  the  Church  which  has  sprung 
up  among  the  nations  of  German  extraction,  rightly  denominated 
Evangelical,  the  Church  of  the  Jleformation.  The  Church 
finally  in  which  all  these  stages  of  development  are  to  be  carried 
forward  together  to  their  highest  truth,  under  a  form  of  Christi- 
anity that  shall  actualize  the  conception  of  a  full  life  union  with 
God,  and  to  which  it  may  be  trusted  the  ecclesiastical  agitations 
of  our  own  time  form  the  transition,  may  be  characterized  as  the 
Church  of  the  Future,  whose  attributes  shall  be  spirituality, 
catholicity,  and  freedom,  joined  together  in  the  most  perfect  com- 
bination. 

Correspondent  now  we  say  with  this  historical  progress  through 
which  the  apprehension  of  Christianity  has  been  carried  in  the 
actual  life  of  the  Church,  appears  the  course  of  modern  theology 
as  concerned  \w\\\\  the  same  subject  in  the  way  of  reflection.  It 
has  been  described  successively  as  doctrine,  as  an  ethical  law,  as 
a  system  of  redemption,  and  ultimately,  though  not  always  in  the 
same  way,  as  a  religion  based  on  the  idea  of  a  real  union  with 
God.  All  this  involves  a  regular  advance  undoubtedly  from  the 
outward  to  the  more  inward.  It  is  most  natural  and  obvious,  to 
conceive  of  Christianity  first  as  doctrine.  Then  in  view  of  its- 
practical  ends,  it  seems  to  be  essentially  ethical,  or  as  Schleirc- 
macher  terms  it,  tcleological,  in  its  character.  Again,  its  highest 
morality  is  found  to  spring  from  the  fact  of  redemption  and 
atonement, and  thus  to  centre  upon  the  person  of  Christ.  Finally 
it  is  felt  that  the  person  of  the  Redeemer  can  have  such  force, 
only  as  the  divine  and  human,  God  and  man  are  in  the  first  place 
reconciled  and  united  in  its  very  constitution,  as  the  ground  of 
all  redemption  for  the  race. 

As  might  be  expected  these  diflerent  views  of  Christianity 
appear  in  close  relation  with  the  various  forms  in  whicli  the 
idea  of  religion  itself  has  been  held ;  for  as  it  is  taken  to  be  the 
absolute  truth  of  all  religion,  it  must  of  course  participate  in  its 
essential  character,  whatever  this  may  be  supposed  to  be.  Viewed 
as  doctrine  accordingly,  it  finds  support  in  the  conce[)tion  of  reli- 
gion as  a  mode  of  knowing  God,  its  prevailing  definition,  especi- 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  19 

ally  among  the  orthodox,  in  the  period  preceding  Kant.  Its  next 
character,  that  of  law,  corresponds  with  the  theory  by  which,  in 
conformity  with  the  philosophy  of  Kant,  all  religion  was  resolved 
into  a  mere  postulate  of  morality.  In  its  evangelical  form,  as  the 
power  of  a  divine  redemption,  it  rests  on  the  idea  of  religion  as  a 
state  of  feeling  or  immediate  consciousness.  But  the  relation  of 
man  to  God  in  religion  does  not  spring  either  from  his  under- 
standing, or  will,  or  feeling,  separately  considered.  It  includes 
all  at  once  in  the  totality  of  his  personal  life.  On  this  view 
therefore  is  based  lastly  that  apprehension  of  Christianity  which 
makes  it  to  be  the  union  of  God  with  humanity,  and  under  this 
form  only  the  source  of  all  light  and  holiness  and  salvation. 

The  first  three  views  which  have  been  described  have  seve- 
rally their  measure  of  truth  ;  but  the  full  truth  requires  their 
comprehension,  in  a  living  way,  under  the  last.  Hence  also 
this  last,  to  be  genuine  and  right,  must  incorporate  in  itself  the 
other  less  perfect  conceptions.  Christianity  can  be  properly 
regarded  as  the  union  of  God  and  humanity,  only  where  due 
account  is  made  at  the  same  time  of  its  doctrinal,  ethical,  and 
soteriological  character,  and  all  is  made  to  rest  on  its  original, 
inalienable  nature,  according  to  which  it  is  no  matter  of  thought 
or  logic  merely  in  any  form,  but  action,  history,  and  life.  No 
pantheistic  view  of  course  can  be  admitted,  in  the  case.  Chris- 
tianity is  a  revelation  of  the  living  God,  by  which  the  divine  and 
human  are  historically  united  in  the  person  of  Christ,  and  which 
continues  to  bring  the  race  subsequently  into  union  with  God 
only  by  redeeming  it  at  the  same  time  from  the  power  of  sin. 
The  proper  expression  to  denote  the  fact  is  therefore,  not  "  the 
unity  of  the  divine  and  human,"  which  is  too  general,  and  liable 
to  be  taken  in  a  pantheistic  sense  ;  but  what  is  far  more  definite 
and  concrete,  "  the  union  of  God  and  man." 

3. 

The  modern  theology,  in  its  course  of  reflection  upon  the 
nature  of  Christianity,  resolved  it  first,  we  have  said,  into  the 
idea  of  doctrine. 

This  was   done   in   two  ways.     Either   all  was   taken  in  the 


20  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 

form  of  a  positive  revelation,  accredited  as  truth  by  God  himself, 
and  to  be  received  on  liis  authority  alone ;  or  without  any  regard 
to  its  historical  character,  the  Christian  system  was  considered 
to  be  simply  the  first  manifestation  of  a  theory  of  rational  reli- 
gion, which  it  was  the  business  of  theology  to  divest  of  its  original 
temporary  covering,  that  its  proper  everlasting  verity  might  come 
fully  into  view.     Thus  we  have  Supernatural  ism  and  Natural- 
ism.    With  all  their  opposition  to  each  other,  they  were  agreed 
in  making  Christianity  to  be  essentially  doctrinal  in  its  character. 
Here  however  an  important  difference  had  place.     Along  Avilh 
other  positive  elements,  Supernaturalism  received  of  course  also 
what  is  said    in  the  Scriptures  concerning  the  person  of  the  Re- 
deemer, though   as  a  dogma  simply  among  other  dogmas,  rather 
than  in  any  other  light.     Naturalism  on  the  other  hand,  with  its 
aversion  for  all  that  is  concrete  and  historical  in  religion,  could 
not  retain  the  idea  of  any  significance  whatever  in  the  person  of 
Christ.     It  went  so  far  as  to  utter  the  wish  even,  that  his  name 
might  have  been  wholly  concealed  from  the  Christian  world,  so 
that  it  could  have  enjoyed  the  full  benefit  of  the  truth  he  taught, 
without  being  led  into  a  superstitious  misuse  of  the  teacher  himself ! 
That  the  true  nature  of  Christianity  was  not  to  be  understood 
in  this  way,  is  now  admitted  on  all  hands.     Naturalism  is  called 
to   mind  only  as  a  spiritual  curiosity,  belonging  to  other  days. 
But  the  other  course  also,  though  more  conservative  so  far  as  the 
contents  of  the  Gospel  were  concerned,  was  no  better  as  to  form 
in  relation  to  the  point  now  under  consideration.  It  failed  entirely 
to  make  known  the  distinctive  character  of  Christianity.     This 
consists  not,  under  any  view,  exclusively  or  prevailingly  in  doc- 
trine.    Tiie  true  idea  of  religion  itself,  as  well   as   the  whole 
history  of  the  Christian  revelation,  contradicts  such  a  supposition. 
Religion  does  indeed  include  knowledge  as  one  of  its  elements  ; 
but  to  conceive  of  it  as  an  intellectual  apprehension  only,  is  to 
mistake  its  true  life  entirely.     Its  inmost  nature  is  love  and  reve- 
rence, a  pervading  sense  of  dependence  on  God  and  communion 
witli  him,  a  full  self-surrcndry  to   the  idea  of  his   presence  and 
will.     If  religion  consisted  in  doctrine,  it  might  be  imparted  fully, 
like  logic  or  mathematics,  in  the  way  of  definition  and  demon- 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  21 

stration.     But  this  is  impossible.     Instruction  is  called  for,  it  is 
true,  in  its  service  ;  but  the  proper  creative  impulse  of  its  life  is 
not  found  in  the  conceptions  thus  imparted  ;  it  must  spring-  from 
the  general  life  of  religion  itself,  as  something  already  at  hand, 
acting  on  the  religious  susceptibility  of  the  subject.     So  with  the 
individual ;   so  with   the   race.     Parents   and   teachers,  prophets 
and  founders  of  religion,  accomplish  their  commission  best  in  the 
way  of  living  representation.     Compared  with  this,  mere  instruc- 
tion is  cold  and  dead.     It  is  only  life,  in  the  sphere  of  religion, 
that  can  create  and  call  forth  life.     The  notion  of  doctrine  falls 
immeasurably  short  of  what  we  mean  by  religion,  viewed   in  its 
living  concrete  character.     To  make  the  one  synonymous  with 
the  other,  is  a  sheer  contradiction.     Conceptions  and  thoughts 
with  regard  to  divine  things  cannot  even  produce  any  true  and 
sound  piety  ;  much  less  may  they  be  taken  for  such  piety  itself. 
So  it  is  clear,  that  Christianity  in  particular  appears  among 
men  under  no  such  character.     In  one  view  it  is  indeed  a  doc- 
trine.   Not  however  in  the  modern  sense,  as  a  system  of  abstract 
propositions  and  proofs  ;  in  this  form  it  might  have  founded,  per- 
haps, a  school,  but  never  a  Church,  or  world-religion.     It  is  the 
proclamation   primarily  of  something  that   has   taken    place,  a 
testimony,  or  joyful  message.     Not  in  the  way  of  thought,  but 
in  the  way  of  actual  occurrence  and  transaction,  as  the  compre- 
hension of  a  system  of  glorious  religious  facts,  has  Christianity 
extended  and  filled  with  new  life  the  spiritual  consciousness  of 
the  world.    This  is  its  proper  original  force  ;  the  doctrine  follows 
afterwards,  only  as  the  representation  of  what  God  has  done. 
But  still  the  doctrine  itself,  even  in  this  form,  has  no  power  as 
such  to  generate  life.     This  springs  only  from  the  presence  of  a 
higher  life,  already  derived   in  the  teacher  himself  from  Christ. 
His  teaching  is  but  the  experimental  expression,  we  may  say,  of 
this  life.     Thus  the  apostles  and  evangelists,  as  heralds  of  the 
Christian  salvation,  preceded  in  the  beginning  the  proper  teachers 
of  Christian  doctrine ;  and  so  in  every  age,  the  Church  has  always 
begun  with  testimony,  and  only  afterwards  proceeded  to  instruc- 
Lion  and  science ;   while  the  true  power  of  her  doctrine,  at  the 


22  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  I 

same  time,  has  ever  resulted  from  the  life  which  belongs  origi- 
nally to  her  Founder,  and  continues  itself  from  him  in  his  people. 
True,  the  actual  in  the  case  of  Christianity  has  its  significance 
not  merely  as  something  that  has  taken  place,  but  as  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  highest  religious  ideas.  These  ideas  may  be  abstract- 
ed from  the  facts,  and  formed  into  a  system,  either  popular  or| 
scientific.  Hence  for  theologians  in  particular,  who  are  mostj 
occupied  with  this  work,  Christianity  has  the  semblance  of  being 
itself  a  sum  of  doctrinal  propositions.  Only  however  as  the  idea 
of  apprehension  or  science,  in  the  case,  is  confounded  with  that 
of  the  object  they  embrace.  Christianity  must  indeed  be  formed 
into  doctrine  for  the  purposes  of  popular  and  scientific  instruc- 
tion;  but  in  its  own  nature,  it  still  remains  life,  living  power,  a 
revelation  of  the  Spirit  in  the  form  of  facts. 

Even  if  Christianity  be  regarded  as  doctrine  mainly,  we  must 
still  ask,  in  what  the  specific  distinction  of  this  doctrine  consists? 
But  no  such  distinction,  it  is  plain,  can  be  found  in  any  particular 
religious  or  moral  proposition,  such  as  Christianity  may  have  in 
common  with  other  religions.     It  consists  in  what  Christ  speaks 
of  himself  and  his  relation  to  God,  as  also  of  the  new  posture 
towards  God  into  which  he  has  brought  the  human  family;  and  i 
again  in  the  testimony  of  the  AposUes  concerning  his  person  and 
work.     This   however  carries  us  at  once  beyond   the  sphere  of  i 
doctrine,  to   that  which   constitutes   its  ground  and  object,  the 
creative   force  of  the  religious   life  itself  as  revealed  under  its 
highest  character  in  Christ.     That  which   is  most  essential  in 
the  mission  of  Christ,  is  his  sfZ/'-exhibition.     This  runs  through 
his  whole  life.     It  includes,  of  course,  his  testimony  concerning 
himself,  and  the  account  of  the  impression  which  was   made  by 
him  upon  others.     Words  and  doctrines  consequently  belong  to  i 
the  representation.     But  what  is  thus  partial  only  and  indepen- 
dent, must  not  be  taken  for  the  original  whole,  by  which  alone  ! 
the  distinctive  character  of  Christianity  is  determined.     This  is  ' 
not   the  Christian  doctrine,  but  the  general  life-revelation  from 
which  it  springs.     Only  as  life,  is  Christianity  the  light  of  men  ;  | 
as  the  Saviour  himself  clearly  signifies,  when  he  says,  not  that 


TRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  23 

liis  doctrine  is  the  truth,  but,  /  am  the  truth,  which  is  immedi- 
ately referred  again  to  this,  that  he  is  also  the  life, 

4. 

The  next  view  places  the  distinctive  character  of  Christianity 
mainly  in  its  ethical  force,  its  power  as  a  Rule  of  life.  This 
stands  closely  connected  with  Kant  and  Rationalism,  as  it  pro- 
ceeded from  his  school.  It  went  along  with  the  conviction,  that 
the  human  mind  can  attain  to  no  sure  knowledge  of  the  superna- 
tural and  divine  in  a  theoretic  way,  but  only  as  it  may  be  necessary 
to  assume  it  in  obedience  to  the  demands  of  our  moral  nature. 
What  morality  requires  as  a  postulate  for  its  own  support,  may 
be  counted  certainly  true,  though  in  other  respects  wholly  un- 
known. The  moral  law  became  here  the  absolute  measure  of  truth. 
Morality  in  man  occupied  the  first  and  highest  place.  Religion 
was  something  secondary  and  subordinate,  necessary  only  as 
required  by  the  other  for  its  own  service.  Christianity  then  was 
an  ethical  law  ;  starting  in  the  form  of  positive  divine  precepts, 
but  identical  at  last,  in  its  true  and  proper  substance,  with  the 
demands  of  the  practical  reason  itself,  by  which  accordingly  it  is 
to  be  tried  and  interpreted.  Christ  was  the  great  lawgiver  for 
humanity ;  the  Church  a  platform,  for  the  grand  contest  of  good 
and  evil  in  the  history  of  the  race.  Faith  in  God  and  the  retri- 
butions of  a  future  life,  resolved  itself  into  a  firm  persuasion  that 
virtue  must  at  last  prevail.  It  was  faith  in  the  moral  order  of 
the  world. 

We  freely  allow  the  great  importance  of  this  ethical  concep- 
tion of  Christianity.  It  surpasses  the  doctrinal  in  this,  that  it 
brings  into  view  more  fully  its  proper  dynamic  nature,  its  teleo- 
logical  character,  the  relation  of  the  whole  to  a  supreme  moral 
end.  It  turns  attention  also  more  towards  the  author  of  the  reli- 
gion, as  being  himself,  though  indeed  only  in  an  idealistic  way, 
the  centre  of  the  whole  system.  It  served  powerfully  moreover, 
one  may  say  to  its  credit,  to  hold  the  age  to  which  it  belonged  on 
good  terms  with  Christianity,  by  presenting  towards  it  that  side 
of  the  system,  which  alone  it  was  prepared  to  appreciate  and 
approve.     Still  the  view  is  by  no  means  suflicient.     It  proceeds 


24  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY 

again  on  a  false  idea  of  religion,  and  misses  what  is  tnily  specific 
in  Christianity.  Piety  is  more  than  a  mere  support  to  morality, 
means  for  an  end  beyond  itself.  Christianity  is  not  simply 
legislative,  but  creative.  Its  chief  elements  are  presented  to  us 
in  the  words,  redemption,  atonement,  grace,  and  are  overlooked 
by  this  theory  altogether.  Christianity  is  not,  like  the  moral 
law,  a  shall  or  miist^  but  a  fulfilment  and  satisfaction,  a  yea  and 
amen;  not  a  requisition  in  God's  name,  but  a  divine  gift  that 
of  itself,  when  planted  in  the  heart,  impels  it  without  command- 
ment to  the  most  free  morality.  Duty,  which  with  Kant  is  all 
in  all,  becomes  In  the  Christian  sphere  nothing;  since  love  is 
every  thing,  and  fulfils  of  itself  the  whole  law.  The  categoric 
imperative  is  struck  dumb  before  that  great  word  :  TVe  love  himy 
because  he  hath  first  loved  us! 

Viewed  either  as  doctrine  or  law,  the  universal  difference  of 
Christianity  from  other  religions,  whether  Pagan  or  Jewish,  is 
not  suffered  to  appear.  As  a  doctrinal  system  merely,  though »it 
might  be  more  perfect  in  its  kind,  it  would  not  differ  specifically 
from  the  schools  of  the  heathen  world ;  as  a  law,  though  with 
higher  and  more  excellent  requisitions,  it  would  be  still  spe- 
cifically of  one  class  with  Judaism  and  the  religion  of  Moham- 
med ;  an  exalted,  purified  Judaism  only,  not  a  new  order  of  reli- 
gion, with  a  principle  altogether  its  own.  In  both  cases  wo 
should  be  at  a  loss  to  explain,  how  it  could  become  the  ground 
of  a  complete  regeneration  of  the  human  life,  the  source  of  a 
new  order  of  world-history  altogether ;  how  it  could  give  birth 
to  characters  and  forms  of  thinking,  such  as  we  meet  with  in 
Paul  and  John  ;  how  in  one  word  it  could  produce  the  Ciiristian) 
Church  with  all  that  it  includes,  not  simply  in  the  form  of  thought 
and  precept,  but  in  the  way  also  of  actual  power  and  efTeet. 

5. 

To  reach  the  distinctive  character  of  Christianity  then  in  this 
view,  as  something  new,  original,  and  difl'erent  from  all  other 
religions,  not  merely  in  quantity  but  in  quality,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  doing  fuller  justice  also  to  those  cardinal  elements  of  the 
system  that  are  comprehended  in  the  term  Gospel,  Schleierma- 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  5J^ 

cher,  more  historical  tlian  the  RationaUsts,  souglit  to  refer  all 
back  to  its  last  ground  or  living  root,  ihe  person  of  Christ  himself. 
In  doing  so,  he  was  viewed  not  as  a  teacher  or  lawgiver  primarily, 
but  with  far  more  depth  and  comprehension  as  a  Redeemer  ;  and 
thus  Christianity  was  made  to  be,  in  its  ground  character,  the  world 
historical  Beligion  of  Bedemption.  He  did  not  deny  that  it  was 
doctrinal,  much  less  that  it  was  ethical,  in  which  view  precisely  he 
styled  it  teleological.  But  he  felt  that  a  thorough  and  full  distinction 
of  Christianity  from  all  other  monotheistic  religions  made  it  neces- 
sary, to  single  out  that  which  has  constituted  it  a  peculiar  religion 
from  the  beginning,  and  which  may  be  said  to  form  the  interior 
unity  that  holds  it  together  in  the  whole  course  of  its  develop- 
ment. This  he  found  in  the  idea  of  redemption,  and  especially 
in  the  manner  of  its  realization  in  the  person  of  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth. This  idea  indeed  is  not  wanting  in  other  religions  also, 
and  in  their  way,  by  purifications,  penances,  and  offerings,  they 
endeavour  to  make  it  actual.  But  there  is  this  essential  differ- 
ence in  the  case  of  Christianity.  Christ  does  not  simply  order 
and  prescribe  the  process  of  redemption,  but  accomplishes  the 
whole  work  in  himself;  so  that  it  is  not  merely  by  him,  but  in 
him,  that  it  is  made  to  reach  the  world,  under  the  most  perfect  and 
all  sufficient  form  ;  since  he  stood  in  full  union  with  God  and 
was  free  from  all  sin.  Thus  the  person  of  its  founder,  in  the 
case  of  this  religion,  becomes  identified  with  its  whole  constitu- 
tion, as  in  no  case  besides.  Moses  was  the  medium  simply, 
through  which  a  particular  institute  was  established,  for  himself 
as  much  as  for  others.  Not  so  Christ.  The  religion  which  he 
brought  into  the  world,  was  not  merely  given  by  him ;  it  was  in 
him,  and  remains  in  him  still,  as  its  living  fountain;  he  is  him- 
self its  grand  constituent,  as  being  the  perfect,  everlasting  Re- 
deemer, and  as  such  the  One  without  a  fellow,  over  against 
whom  all  others  stand  as  subjects  for  redemption.  That  which 
constitutes  Christianity,  as  distinguished  from  all  other  forms  of 
religion,  is  the  reference,  according  to  Schleiermacher,  which  all 
that  belongs  to  it  is  found  to  include,  to  the  consciousness  of 
redemption  through  the  person  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

A  most  important  advance  certainly,  in  the  process  of  reflection 
3 


26  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 

on  this  subject.  Doctrine  regards  knowledge  simply ;  law  regards 
only  the  will ;  but  redemption  reaches  out  from  feeling  as  its 
centre  over  the  whole  inner  man.  By  this  view  accordingly,  we 
are  brought  to  a  more  full  and  deep  conception  of  religion,  than 
before.  Christianity  acquires  a  more  concrete  historical  charac- 
ter. Its  dynamic  nature  is  placed  in  far  clearer  light,  as  not  only 
revealing  itself  in  the  form  of  imperative  authority,  but  as  im- 
parting also  freedom  and  spiritual  power  in  the  way  of  a  new 
creation.  All  this  goes  far  beyond  the  previous  definitions,  in 
determining  the  universal  pecuharity  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  epoch  formed  by  the  theology  of  Schleiermacher  has  at 
least  carried  us  irrevocably  beyond  the  conception  of  Christi- 
anity,N9^  being  either  merely  doctrinal  or  merely  ethical.  Every 
one,  who  is  not  in  a  state  of  absolute  theological  stagnation,  un- 
derstands now  that  the  faith  of  Christ  has  respect  not  only  to 
his  doctrine  but  to  his  person;  and  that  Christianity  is  a  divine 
life,  the  principle  of  a  new  creation,  which  unfolds  itself  conti- 
nually with  free  inward  necessity  by  its  own  force  and  according 
to  its  own  law.  Every  one  knows  too,  that  this  new  creation 
proceeds  from  Christ,  in  the  character  of  a  Redeemer,  and  that 
no  other  religion  before  or  since  has  ever  exhibited  any  thing  of 
the  same  sort.  But  still  the  last  point  required  for  a  complete 
definition  of  the  subject  is  not  yet  reached.  The  general  de- 
fect of  Schleiermacher's  theology,  meets  us  also  in  his  concep- 
tion of  the  specific  nature  of  Christianity. 

The  principle  of  redemption  does  by  all  means  give  character 
to  Christianity.  But  to  this  idea,  which  itself  with  Schleierma- 
cher is  found  deficient  through  the  want  of  a  proper  appreciation  of 
the  nature  of  sin,  another  of  at  least  equal  importance  is  always  join- 
ed, the  idea  of  atonement.  Redemption  supposes  atonement.  No 
one  can  feel  himself  to  be  redeemed,  who  is  not  reconciled  with 
God.  'J'his  of  itself  implies  that  the  idea  of  atonement  is  some- 
thing higher  and  more  original  than  the  idea  of  redemption, 
which  ought  not  therefore  to  be  overlooked  in  settling  the  in- 
quiry, what  is  Christianity?  Again,  redemption  is  internal,  the 
deliverance  of  its  subject  from  the  power  of  sin ;  atonement 
carries  in  itself,  for  the  subject,  an  outward  reference,  establish- 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  9f 

ing  a  right  relation  between  the  sinner  and  a  holy  God.  The 
first  is  essentially  a  matter  of  feeling,  a  state  thus  or  condition  of 
the  individual  man  ;  the  other  looks  beyond  the  individual  to 
God,  and  includes  in  this  way  something  objective,  (forgiveness 
of  sin,  justification)  into  which  must  enter  necessarily  also  some 
knowledge  of  the  divine  nature.     Schleiermacher,  in  full  con- 

.  formity  with  the  prevailingly  subjective  character  of  his  theo- 
logical views,  and  his  conception  of  religion  as  a  form  of  feeling, 
has  here  also  confined  himself  exclusively  to  what  is  matter  of 
inward  experience,  the  Christian  salvation  as  carried  forward  in 
the  life  of  the  subject.  But  it  is  an  inadequate  view  of  religion  to 
place  it  in  feeling,  to  the  exclusion  of  knowledge  and  action.  A 
full,  sound  piety  embodies  the  understanding  and  will  also  as 
original  elements  in  its  constitution.  So  especially,  in  the  case 
of  Christianity.  It  is  a  revelation  indeed  only  as  it  is  a  system 
of  redemption  ;  but  it  is  a  system  of  redemption  also,  only  as 
it  reveals  the  character  of  God  in  a  new  and  perfect  light,  making 
him  known  as  a  merciful  and  loving  Father,  the  source  of  all 
grace  and  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ.  This  goes  beyond 
the  mere  state  of  the  subject  himself,  and  calls  for  a  conception 
more  suitable  to  the  objectire  side  of  the  case  than  that  of  re- 
demption. Such  is  the  conception  of  atonement.  And  then 
once  more ;  both  redemption  and  atonement,  as  accomplished 
by  Christ,  are  a  work.  But  all  spiritual  activity  is  based  on 
some  particular  form  of  existence  or  being.  So  eminently,  in 
the  case  of  Christ.    All  that  he  did,  took  its  character  from  what 

'  he  was.  As  then  the  work  of  redemption  rests  on  that  of  atone- 
ment, so  do  both  together  again  rest  on  that  of  the  proper  being 
of  Christ,  as  distinguished  from  all  others.  To  this  therefore, 
Christ's  peculiar  personality,  which  is  ^of  force  apart  from  all 
that  he  does,  but  necessarily  reveals  itself  also  in  this  way,  we 
are  directed  as  to  that  which  is  last  and  highest.  Here  we  must 
expect  to  find  the  true  fountain  of  Christianity,  and  its  most 
fundamental  characteristic  distinction  at  the  same  time. 

6. 

Wliat  now  is  that  in  the  personality  of  Christ,  by  which  he 


28  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 

is  constituted  a  perfect  Saviour,  ia  the  way  of  atonement  and 
redemplion  ?  We  reply  generally,  his  own  substantial  nature, 
at  once  human  and  divine  ;  his  life  filled  with  all  the  attributes 
of  God,  aud  representing  at  the  same  time  the  highest  concep- 
tion of  nature  and  man  ;  complete  and  self-sufficient  in  its  own 
fulness,  and  yet  by  this  fulness  itself  the  free  principle  of  a  new 
corresponding  life-process,  in  the  way  of  self-communication, 
for  the  human  world.  This  life  itself  however  has  again  its 
central  heart,  to  which  especially  we  must  look  for  the  peculiar 
being  of  Christ.  Here  the  whole  theology  of  the  present  time, 
in  all  its  different  tendencies,  may  be  said  to  have  but  one  voice. 
That  which  constitutes  the  special  being  of  Christ,  makes  him 
to  be  what  he  is  and  gives  him  thus  his  highest  significance  for 
the  world,  is  the  absolute  unity  of  the  divine  and  human  in  his 
jierson.  Deity  and  manhood  in  him  come  fully  together  and 
are  made  one.  This  is  the  last  ground  of  Christianity.  Here 
above  all  we  are  to  look  for  its  distinctive  character. 

All  theological  tendencies,  we  have  said,  are  agreed  on  this 
point,  so  far  as  the  general  proposition  is  concerned.  But  when 
it  comes  to  the  particular  sense  and  application  of  it,  we 
find  again  a  wide  difference,  amounting  in  part  to  full  opposition. 
The  main  contradiction  lies  between  the  pantheistic  speculation, 
which  resolves  the  idea  in  question  into  a  general  fact  belonging 
to  the  phenomenology  of  spirit,  and  the  proper  Christian  view, 
by  which  all  is  made  to  rest  on  the  acknowledgment  of  a  per- 
sonal God  and  a  positive  revelation,  as  something  historically 
real  and  individual.  This  difference  is  complete.  Under  either 
view  indeed,  whether  the  union  of  the  divine  and  human  be  taken 
in  an  idealistic  or  realistic  sense,  the  idea,  where  it  is  received 
at  all,  must  always  be  allowed  to  rule  and  characterize  the  entire 
conception  of  Christianity,  as  the  last  principle  of  its  signifi- 
cance and  power;  for  no  higher  idea  can  have  place  in  the 
sphere  of  religion,  and  where  this  elevation  is  reached,  either  by 
God's  becoming  man  or  by  man's  coming  to  the  consciousness 
of  his  own  eternal  divinity  as  the  pantheists  talk,  all  else  must 
take  its  form  accordingly,  and  the  religion  tlius  constituted  will 
be  essentially  different  from  every  other  in  which  this  ground 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  29 

principle  may  be  wanting.  Still  for  the  whole  apprehension  of 
Christianity,  we  may  say,  not  only  that  much,  but  that  all  de- 
pends on  the  question,  which  of  these  views  shall  be  adopted  ; 
whether  this  central  fact  shall  be  regarded  as  a  general  "  unity 
of  the  divine  and  human"  realizing  itself  in  the  consciousness 
of  the  race  as  such,  or  be  conceived  of  as  a  concrete  "  union  of 
God  and  man,"  that  actualizes  itself  from  a  definite  point  and 
only  under  certain  moral  conditions. 

7. 

Hegel  acknowledged  Christianity  as  the  absolute  truth  of  reli- 
gion. He  did  so,  because  it  has  its  essential  nature  in  the  incar- 
nation, exhibiting  thus  the  unity  of  the  divine  and  human.  On 
this  ground  mainly,  he  undertook  to  reconcile  Christianity  with 
philosophy,  and  to  show  their  full  identity  in  their  last  results. 
For  both  this  unity  is  the  highest  idea ;  only,  what  Christianity 
holds  in  the  concrete  form  of  the  individual,  historical  God-man,  is 
raised  by  philosophy  into  the  sphere  of  speculative  thought  as 
something  general.  It  belongs  to  the  nature  of  the  absolute  or 
divine  spirit  to  actualize  itself  in  humanity,  and  the  human  spirit 
accordingly,  as  it  descends  into  the  depths  of  its  own  being, 
recognizes  itself  to  be  divine.  It  is  the  nature  of  God  to  be  hu- 
man, and  to  be  divine  is  the  nature  of  man.  The  consciousness 
of  this  we  owe  to  Christianity.  It  made  known  to  man  his 
inborn  divinity,  put  an  end  to  the  opposition  between  eternity 
and  time,  brought  heaven  down  upon  the  earth,  overthrew  the 
dualistic  antagonism  of  finite  and  infinite,  and  laid  the  foundation 
in  this  way  for  that  Monismus  des  Gedankens,  as  they  call  it, 
which  forms  the  great  triumph  of  modern  speculation. 

With  this  however  the  later  Hegelians,  of  the  so  called  left 
side,  were  by  no  means  satisfied.  The  peace  made  between 
Christianity  and  philosophy  by  Hegel,  appeared  to  them  to 
be  hollow.  It  was  not  allowed  accordingly  to  stand.  It  was 
denied  that  Christianity  includes  such  a  unity  of  the  finite  and 
infinite  as  the  truth  requires.  Either  it  was  held  to  be  in  direct 
contradiction  to  the  speculative  principle  of  God's  immanence 
in  the  world  ;  or  else  it  was  said,  that  the  unity  which  it  allowed 

3* 


30  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 

between  God  and  man,  as  being  restricted  to  a  single  individual, 
had  no  force  for  the  general  mass  of  humanity  and  nature,  in  the 
case  of  which  accordingly  the  dualistic  contradiction  remained 
still  unsurmounted.  With  this  last  view  it  was  admitted  indeed, 
that  Christianity  owes  its  world-historical  power  to  such  union 
of  the  divine  and  human  as  it  exhibits,  notwithstanding  the  iso- 
lated form  in  which  it  appears  ;  the  idea  at  least  served  to  stim'u- 
late  the  human  spirit  to  a  new  life,  and  places  this  religion  high 
above  all  that  had  been  known  before.  Still  however  the  union 
in  the  case  of  Christ  himself  was  not  to  be  taken  as  real  or  his- 
torical; it  was  counted  as  mythical  only,  an  idea  made  to  take 
a  concrete  form  in  his  person  by  the  mere  imagination  of  the 
Church.  And  then  as  it  was  but  a  transient  fact  for  the  Chris- 
tian faith  itself,  which  failed  at  the  same  time  to  acknowledge  the 
universal  oneness  of  God  and  humanity,  Christianity,  it  was 
contended,  still  fell  short  of  the  truth.  There  was  still  no  pro- 
per reconcihation,  save  for  Christ  only,  between  God  and  man, 
the  infinite  and  the  finite,  heaven  and  earth  ;  the  unity  allowed  was 
not  apprehended  as  a  present  divine  fact,  but  only  as  something 
past  in  the  Saviour  himself,  or  as  something  still  future  in  the 
jieavenly  world. 

We  find  then  three  ways  of  looking  at  the  subject  in  the  same 
school.  They  agree  in  considering  the  absolute  identification  of 
God  with  the  world,  (pantheism  and  monism),  to  be  the  highest 
truth.  But  the  difference  between  them  is  very  material.  The 
first  makes  Christianity  and  speculation  to  be  essentially  the  same ; 
the  second  throws  them  absolutely  asunder ;  the  third  allows  them 
to  come  together,  but  only  in  a  single  point,  the  isolated  centre 
of  Christianity,  which  the  modern  speculation  has  extended  into 
a  whole  world  of  truth  not  acknowledged  by  Christianity  itself. 

Taking  the  school  as  a  whole,  it  has  the  merit  of  having 
grasped  with  decision  the  main  point  in  Christianity;  it  finds  its 
grand  distinction,  its  inmost  nature,  in  the  constitution  of  Christ's 
person,  and  places  in  full  view  thus  its  true  specific  character. 
But  in  doing  so,  it  reduces  this  central  point  again  to  a  mere 
caput  mortuiimy  and  sinks  what  in  Christianity  is  the  highest 
form  of  life,  a  divine  act,  most  real  and  lull   of  power,  into  an 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  31 

incomplete  stage  simply  of  speculation.  For  what  is  here  styled 
unity  of  the  divine  and  human,  is  not  the  union  of  God  and  man 
as  different,  accomplished  in  a  real  and  perfect  way  in  Christ, 
and  taking  effect  also  through  him  in  the  race  ;  but  an  original 
and  eternal  oneness,  in  virtue  of  which  divinity  and  humanity 
are  held  to  be  essentially  the  same,  God  only  the  truth  of  man, 
and  man  the  reality  of  God ;  in  such  sort  that  man  at  a  certain 
point  of  development,  must  necessarily  come  to  the  conscious- 
ness of  his  own  truth,  that  is  of  his  divine  nature  or  unity  with 
God.  This  point  was  reached  in  Christianity,  whether  in  the 
consciousness  of  Christ  himself,  or  only  by  means  of  him  in  the 
mind  of  the  Church,  would  seem  to  be  considered  indifferent. 
In  either  case,  the  form  in  which  the  truth  at  first  came  into 
view,  was  very  incomplete;  since  the  unity  which  belongs  pro- 
perly to  the  race  in  general,  was  supposed  to  have  place  only  in 
a  single  instance.  It  remained  for  modern  philosophy  to  burst 
the  bonds  of  this  conception,  and  push  the  speculative  germ  con- 
tained in  it  to  its  proper  perfection.  But  this  was  in  fact  to  rob 
the  conception  itself  of  all  its  significance,  whether  retained  as  a 
symbol  still  or  cast  aside  as  of  no  farther  use.  Thus  the  system 
did  indeed  fix  its  eye  on  the  centre,  the  very  heart  of  Christi- 
anity ;  but  it  was  only  to  aim  its  deadly  arrow  the  more  surely  at 
this  vital  point. 

Looking  at  the  several  views  of  the  school  separately,  no 
attention  whatever  is  due  to  that  which  regards  Christianity  as  a 
religion  which  places  God  abstractly  beyond  the  world.  Every 
one  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  it  must  know,  that  while  it 
distinguishes  the  one  from  the  other,  it  teaches  at  the  same  time 
the  existence  of  God  in  the  world  and  of  the  world  in  God.  It 
does  not  merofe  the  beinof  of  God  in  the  world,  but  allows  him  to 
l\\[  it  notwithstanding  with  his  actual  presence  and  power.  The 
thought  is  in  some  sense  correct,  that  Christianity  has  put  an  end 
to  the  opposition  of  the  infinite  and  the  finite,  the  divine  and 
human.  It  is  true  at  the  same  time  however,  that  it  acknow- 
ledges an  absolute  union  of  divinity  and  humanity  only  in  Christ, 
and  sees  a  hopeless  dualism  every  where  else.  The  unity  in 
this  case  is  not  indeed  restricted  to  Christ  as  a  solitary,  transient 


32  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 

instance,  in  the  way  pretended  by  the  objection  ;  it  proceeds  from 
him  over  into  the  spiritual  organism  of  which  he  is  the  head,  and 
becomes  thus  a  permanent  constitution  for  the  race;  heaven  and 
salvation  belong  not  exclusively  to  the  next  world,  but  have  place 
also  in  the  present  life.     Still  Christianity  is  not  for  this  reason 
monistic,  in  the  Hegelian  sense.     It  allows  by  all  means  a  dual- 
ism ;  a  dualism  that  is  not  to  be  speculated  or  ignored  simply  out  I 
of  the  way,  deeply  seated  as  it  is  in  the  inmost  consciousness  of  I 
the  whole  human  world  ;  the  dualism  of  sin.     The  existence  of 
sin  finds  its  evidence  for  every  man  in  his  own  conscience.     By 
it  moreover,  he  feels  himself  to  be  involved  in  the  most  terrible 
self-contradiction,  and  what  is  still  worse,  in  direct  opposition  to 
a  holy  God.     This  dualism   can  be   denied,  only  by  denying 
either  sin  or  God,  or  else  both   together.     That  is,  he  who  does 
so  must  sacrifice   his  moral  or  religious  consciousness,  or  with 
the  destruction  of  both  at  once,  subvert  his  whole  spiritual  nature. 
In  any  case  he  must  at  least?  discard  Christianity  entirely,  which 
without  the  acknowledgment  of  this  dualism   has   no  meaning 
whatever.     Speculation  sets   the   dualism   aside   in   the  way  of 
logic,  joining  opposites  that  are  held  to  have  been  originally  one ; 
but  by  such  logical  redemption  no  conscience  is  quieted,  no  duty 
turned  into  ability,  no  sinner  born  to  a  new  life.     Christianity 
makes  full  account  of  the  opposition  as  it  actually  exists,  shows 
holiness   and   sin,  God   and   the   world   lying   in   wickedness,  in 
sharp  contradiction.     But  it  overcomes  all   this   in   the  way  of 
historical   fact,  by  bringing  God  and   humanity  to  a  true  inward 
union,  not  in  thought  merely,  but  in  an  actual  human  life  ;   estab- 
lishing thus  a  real  power  of  redemption,  through  which  the  race 
is  made  to  participate  in  the  same  life,  not  by  a  single  stroke  of 
consciousness,  but  all   the   more   surely  by  means   of  a  severe 
moral  process.     Here  accordingly  the  ethical  and  rcdemptional 
interests,  of  which  Hegelian  speculation  makes  so  little  account, 
are  allowed  to  stand  in  their  full  force  ;  and  Christianity  altogether 
retains  its  true  character  as  a  theistic  religion,  in  which  God  and 
the  world  though  not  sundered  are  clearly  distinguished,  a  religion 
that  acknowledges  the   absolute   holiness  of  God,  and  leads  to 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  33 

union  with  him  only  in  the  way  of  deUverance  from   the  power 
of  sin. 

8. 

That  Christ  himself  possessed  the  consciousness  of  entire 
unity  with  God,  and  that  others  were  made  to  feel-  the  presence 
of  a  divine  life  in  his  person,  admits  of  no  doubt.  In  one  form 
or  another  this  idea  lay  at  the  ground  of  the  whole  Christian 
.faith.  It  wrought  such  world  movement  and  world  change,  as 
no  pious  fiction,  but  a  real  life  power  only,  could  ever  have  pro- 
duced. Equally  clear  is  it,  that  Christ's  will  was  to  impart  his 
spirit  and  life  to  his  people,  and  thus  to  continue  and  extend  his 
existence  in  them  as  the  proper  life  of  the  world.  Both  thoughts 
are  exhibited  in  the  fourth  Gospel  particularly,  under  the  most 
manifold  representation,  as  the  highest  idea  of  Christianity. 
Christ,  himself  first  glorified  of  the  Father,  will  glorify  himself 
again  in  his  people  ;  they  shall  eat  his  flesh  and  blood,  that  is, 
take  into  them  his  life  ;  cast  into  the  ground  by  death,  like  a  grain 
of  wheat,  he  shall  rise  again  as  a  plentiful  seed  in  the  Church, 
and  multiply  and  perpetuate  himself  in  this  way  through  all  time. 
All  concentrates  however  in  this,  that  he  will  draw  them,  through 
himself,  to  the  Father,  and  make  them  one  with  the  Father : 
"  that  they  all  may  be  one,  as  thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I 
in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us" — and  then  again  :  "  I  in 
them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one,  and 
that  the  world  may  know  that  thou  hast  sent  me,  and  hast  loved 
them  as  thou  hast  loved  me."  All  that  belongs  to  God,  belongs 
also  to  Christ,  and  with  all  this  divine  fulness  he  communicates 
himself  to  his  people,  makes  his  abode  with  them,  and  sanctifies 
them ;  or  as  the  apostle  Paul  expresses  it,  only  in  reversed  order : 
"All  is  yours,  and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's." 

The  ground  of  the  Christian  faith  then,  that  to  which  it  owes 
its  origin  and  character,  is  the  unity  of  Christ  ivith  God ;  but 
along  with  this  it  includes  with  equal  necessity  the  assurance, 
that  the  fact  thus  constituted  is  not  single,  solitary  and  transient 
in  its  nature,  but  must  with  the  spirit  and  life  of  Christ  extend 
itself  to  those  also  who  believe  in  him,  and  so  by  degrees  to 


34  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 

humanity  as  a  whole.  Christ  is  alone,  as  the  unity  in  him  was 
original  and  complete ;  but  he  is  not  single,  since  that  which  was 
in  him,  is  to  become,  according  to  the  measure  of  receptivity,  the 
possession  of  the  whole  race.  A  living  head  is  not  to  be  thought 
of  apart  from  the  body.  No  redeemed  Church  without  a 
Redeemer ;  but  just  as  little  a  perfect  Redeemer  without  a 
Church.     Christ  is  made  complete  in  his  people. 

There  can  be  no  deeper  idea  in  the  sphere  of  religion.  Does 
it  indeed  reveal  itself,  not  merely  as  the  ground  thought,  but  as 
the  ground  fact  of  Christianity,  imparting  to  it  its  inmost  consti- 
tution ?  If  so,  three  things  will  necessarily  follow.  First,  the 
religion  which  includes  this  revelation,  will  carry  just  here  its 
most  distinctive  seal  and  criterion  as  compared  with  other  reli- 
gions. Secondly,  it  will  hereby  authenticate  itself  as  the  absolute 
religion,  the  faith  of  humanity.  Thirdly,  all  that  belongs  to  it 
will  take  its  best  form,  and  appear  in  its  true  light,  from  this 
centre.     These  several  points  then  demand  our  attention. 

9. 

All  religion  stands  essentially  in  the  communion  of  man  with 
God.  The  most  perfect  and  intense  form  of  communion  between 
spiritual  beings,  where  without  the  loss  of  individual,  separate 
personality  on  either  side,  ^uch  a  mutual  interpenetration  of  spirit 
and  nature  has  place,  that  the  one  may  be  said  to  live,  without  let 
or  bar,  freely  and  sweetly  in  the  other,  we  call  unity.  The  concep- 
tion however  will  be  different,  as  the  relation  to  which  it  is 
applied  may  be  that  of  creature  to  creature  merely,  or  that  of  the 
creature  to  the  Creator,  which  must  ever  involve  infinite  distance 
between  nature  and  nature,  in  the  case  even  of  the  greatest 
aflSnity.  As  applied  to  this  last  relation,  unity  denotes  that 
position  of  man  towards  God,  in  which  God,  meeting  no  obstruc- 
tion in  man,  communicates  himself  to  him  in  the  entire  fulness 
of  his  Spirit,  his  love,  his  holiness;  whilst  man  acting  purely  and 
fully  under  the  impulse  of  God's  Spirit  working  in  him,  makes 
the  divine  will  absolutely  his  own ;  so  that  between  self-con- 
sciousness  and    God-consciousness   there   is   no   distinction   or 


PRELIM rNARY    ESSAY.  35 

conflict,  but  the  fir^t  is  fully  taken  up  into  the  second,  and  ruled 
jy  it,  and  filled  with  it  at  every  point. 

Such  a  union,  though  in  unconscious  form,  belonged  to  that 
state  of  innocence,  in  which  man  was  originally  formed.  But 
.his  has  yielded  to  a  state  of  sin,  bringing  with  it  separation  from 
Sod.  The  object  of  religion  now  is  to  restore  what  has  been 
ost.  This  can  be  accomplished  only  in  the  way  of  atonement ; 
he  last  end  however  is  always  communion  and  perfect  union 
with  God,  no  longer  in  the  form  of  unconscious  innocence  indeed, 
jut  with  such  ripe  consciousness  as  springs  from  surmounted 
spiritual  discord  and  conflict. 

The  religions  which  preceded  Christianity  aimed  also  at  this 
3nd.  Judaism,  as  actuated  by  the  idea  of  the  Holy  One  and  its 
strong  sense  of  sin,  in  the  way  of  atonement ;  Heathenism,  with 
its  want  of  moral  earnestness,  in  the  way  of  more  outward 
services.  But  it  came  not  to  a  true  communion,  to  say  nothing 
of  unity,  between  God  and  humanity,  in  either  direction.  The 
constitution  of  both  sytems  rendered  this  impossible. 

Heathenism  never  rose,  as  a  religion,  to  the  full  conception  of 
the  divine,  as  something  above  nature,  spiritual,  holy,  and  in 
itself  one.  The  divinity  was  pantheislically  merged  in  nature, 
which  itself  came  in  this  way  to  an  apotheosis,  and  was  honoured 
as  divine.  The  two  ideas  were  confounded,  made  to  flow  together. 
With  such  want  of  clear  distinction,  there  was  no  room  of  course 
to  speak  of  a  real  union.  True,  .in  its  higher  stages.  Heathenism 
exhibits  the  divinity  under  the  form  of  humanity,  and  seems  in 
this  way  to  join  them  together.  But  after  all  it  is  no  true  con- 
junction ;  since  we  have  neither  a  true  God  in  such  case  nor  a 
true  man  ;  the  God  being  subject  to  all  sorts  of  human  imperfec- 
tion, and  the  man  having  an  unearthly  fantastic  nature  that  over- 
throws his  reality.  The  idea  of  a  full  union  of  God  and  man,  by 
an  act  of  condescending  love  on  the  one  side  and  under  the  condi- 
tion of  holiness  on  the  other,  lay  utterly  beyond  the  whole  sphere 
of  thinking,  which  characterized  the  heathen  world. 

Such  an  idea  could  have  place  only  on  the  ground  of  a  consti- 
tutionally ethical,  monotheistic  religion,  in  which  a  full  distinction 
was  made  between   God  and    the  world.     Judaism   had    this 


36  pheliminary  essay. 

character.  But  it  was  wanting  on  another  side.  What  Heatheu'- 
ism  confounded,  Judaism  not  only  distinguished  but  sundered. 
It  was  not  indeed  wholly  without  the  conception  of  God's  beiiiL^ 
in  the  world  (Inweltlichkeit);  but  this  was  most  imperfectly  applied. 
According  to  tiie  Jewish  view,  God  works  in  the  sphere  of  nature 
and  humanity  ;  but  it  is  outwardly  upon  both,  rather  than  inwardly 
in  them  both.  He  works  in  an  extraordinary,  miraculous  way/ 
rather  than  in  the  quiet,  orderly  course  of  things.  Hence  his 
interpositions  have  the  character  of  isolated,  abrupt,  transient 
occasions,  leaving  nature  and  man  to  themselves  again  as  before  ; 
whereas,  the  idea  of  a  true  and  perfect  union  must  imply  always, 
a  constant  communication  of  the  divine  Spirit,  a  permanent 
indwelling  of  the  divine  nature,  a  fellowship  on  the  part  of  man 
in  the  divine  life  that  shall  cover  the  whole  tract  of  his  existence. 
Here  then  we  have  God  in  his  truth  and  man  in  his  proper 
reality  ;  but  the  relation  between  them  involves  no  true,  full,, 
unobstructed  union. 

This  is  conceivable  only  on  the  basis  of  a  religion,  in  which 
God  and  the  world  may  be  distinguished  without  being  sundered,  i 
widi  a  full  recognition  of  God's  grace  as  well  as  holiness  on  the 
one  hand,  as  also  of  the  capacity  of  man,  according  to  his  original 
human  constitution,  to  participate  in  the  divine  nature  on  the 
other.  All  this  now  we  find  in  Christianity ,  and  in  Christianity 
alone.  God,  in  the  Christian  faith,  is  the  self-existent  Creator 
and  Preserver  of  all  things  ;  but  all  live,  move  and  have  their 
being  also  in  him,  and  bear  witness  of  his  presence.  He  is  the 
infinitely  exalted,  and  yet  the  infinitely  near;  communicating 
himself  in  boundless  love  and  condescension  ;  in  such  sort,  that 
where  the  condition  of  a  sinless  holiness  is  given,  as  in  Christ, 
we  find  humanity  admitted  not  merely  to  extraordinary  illapses 
of  the  Spirit  in  tlie  way  of  trance  or  vision  or  sudden  inspiration, 
but  to  the  privilege  of  a  clear,  full,  unbroken  consciousness  of 
union  with  the  divine  life,  as  the  natural  and  proper  order  of  its 
own  existence.  Here  we  have  the  true  God,  holy  and  boundless 
in  his  love  ;  a  true  man,  representing  the  idea  of  humanity,  under 
every  view,  in  the  most  perfect  form  ;  and  a  true  union,  as  holding 
in  tiie  undivided  and  indivisible  oneness  of  a  single  living  person- 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  37 

ality.  Thus  is  the  ponit  reached,  which  all  previous  religions 
struggled  to  reach  in  vain.  Here  is  the  great  seal  and  criterion 
of  Christianity,  not  merely  distinguishing  it  from  Heathenism  and 
Judaism,  but  setting  it  high  above  them,  and  showing  it  to  be  the 
end  in  which  their  very  nature  requires  tliem  to  pass  away. 

10. 

By  this  very  fact,  Christianity  is  shown  to  be  the  absolute 
religion,  the  faith  of  humanity,  that  form  of  piety  in  which  the 
consciousness  of  an  imperishable  nature  may  lake  for  its  motto 
the  words:  "Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
forever." 

Religion  in  its  very  nature  is  Love.     It  starts  in  this  character 
from  God  as  love  to  man,  and  returns  again  in  the  form  of  human 
love   to  its  source;  a  circling  stream  from   God  to   God.     Its 
highest  manifestation  on  both  sides,  must  constitute  the  utmost 
summit  of  the  religious  life.     This  we  find  in  Christ.     His  mis- 
sion,  by  which  he  was  given  up  to  suffering  and  death,  proceeds 
from  an  everlasting  love,  which  spares   not  even   that  which   it 
held  dearest,  in  order  to  restore  and  save  lost  man.     He  himself 
enters  into  the  will  of  this  love,  with  the  most  perfect  freedom. 
In  every  part  of  his  life  he  shows  a  power  of  love,  which  for  its 
sublimity  and  touching  simplicity,  its  purity  and  invincibleness, 
cannot   be  counted  in  its  origin  and  nature   other  than  divine. 
And  as  he  offers  himself,  through  the  force  of  this  love,  unreserv- 
edly to   God,  so  he  offers  himself  also,  through  the  force  of  the 
same  love,  to  his  brethren  of  mankind  also,  in  life,  suffering  and 
death,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  them  to  God,  and  uniting  them 
among  themselves  and  with  God.     He  is  at    once  accordingly 
the  most  perfect  expression  of  love  in  both  directions,  from  God 
to  man  and  from  man  to  God,  as  well  as  of  love  to  the  brethren. 
He  is  a  centre  of  love,  divine  and   human  intensely  interwoven, 
with  power  to  embrace  tlie  whole  circle  of  humanity  ;  a  fountain 
of  love,  from  wliich  all  generations  may  draw  without  exhausting 
its  fulness.  No  other  religion  exhibits  any  parallel,  or  resemblance 
even,  to  this.     Hence  it  is  only  in  Christianity  that  God  is  known 
as  Love  ;  that  the  love  of  man  to  God  is  derived  from  his  love  as 

4 


38 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 


first  exercised  towards  them  ;  that  love  to  brethren  is  made  iden- 
tical witli  love  to  God  ;  and  that  such  a  deep  view  of  the  first  is 
taken  as  to  make  even  the  want  of  it  seem  the  sin  of  murder 
itself.  Nor  has  the  world  ever  gone  beyond  this  exhibition  since. 
Christ  stands  still,  and  must  ever  stand,  in  this  view,  without  a 
parallel  in  history.  The  fairest  and  greatest  that  history  has  to 
show  besides,  is  itself  only  what  has  sprung  from  the  kindling 
power  of  his  love.  There  is  no  room  in  fact  to  think  of  anything 
higher  than  this.  It  includes  all.  Nor  can  the  work  of  atone- 
ment and  redemption  ever  be  repeated,  in  the  same  form.  Chris- 
tianity then,  even  in  this  view,  as  comprehended  in  the  person  of 
its  Founder,  is  the  utmost  summit  of  religion.  It  cannot  be 
transcended. 

But  on  this  full  fellowship  of  love  rests  also  that  moral  and 
spiritual  union  between  God  and   man,  which  forms  the  general 
criterion  of  what  is  highest  in  the  religious  sphere.     In  Christ, 
the  Spirit  of  God  worked  without  limitation  or  restraint ;  his 
will  was  fully  pervaded  by  the  divine  will ;  he  and  the  Father 
are  one ;  the  unity  between  God  and  man  is  shown  to  be  com- 
plete, opening  for  the  race  a  sure  way  to  new  life.     The  specu- 
lative philosophy  tells  us  that  the  consciousness  of  this  unity  is 
to  be  considered  merely  a  new  point  reached  in  the  process  of 
world-thought,  either  in  tlie  mind  of  Christ  himself  or  by  the 
Church  in  its  zeal  to  glorify  his  person.     Very  well.     One  can- 
not see  indeed  how  the  Church  could  come  to  this,  without  find- 
ing some  sufficient  ground  for  its  idea  in  Christ  himself.     But 
be  it  so.     The  conception  still  remains  one  that  is  peculiar  to 
Christianity,  and  as  a  conception  even  it  cannot  be  surpassed  by 
anything  higher  in    religion.     If  religion  consisted  in   thouglit 
merely,  we  should  have  here,  under  such  view  also,  its  crowning 
height.     Only  one  thing  would    be  more,  immeasurably  more 
indeed,  thnn  this  thought — its  full  actualization.    This  the  Chris- 
tian  faith,  in    pointed  contradiction   to   the  modern  speculative 
philosophy,  exhibits  as  a  fact  in  Christ.     Speculation  uyo  indeed 
pretends  reality  for  its  idea.     But  here  it  is  found  to  halt.     It 
has  no  right  conception,  in  the  first  place,  of  unity,  but  substi- 
tutes for  it  identity ;  if  man  is  the  manifestation  of  God  by  his 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  39 

very  nature,  llicrc  is  no  room  to  spenk  of  his  becoming  one  with 
Gotl.  And  then,  it  comes  to  no  true  reality  in  the  case.  Tiic 
reality  is  claimed  for  the  race  ;  bnt  this  is  made  up  of  individuals, 
or  as  they  prefer  to  term  it  copies,  in  every  one  of  which  the 
unity  in  question  is  troubled  at  best  and  incomplete ;  yea,  it  is 
against  the  nature  of  the  idea,  we  are  told,  to  exhaust  itself  in 
one  individual.  How  then  shall  it  come  in  this  way  to  a  full, 
clear  manifestation  ?  Thus  speculation  seeks  to  extinguish  the 
sun,  that  is  actually  shining  pure  and  bright  in  the  moral  firma- 
ment, and  offers  in  its  room  earthly  tapers,  which  multiplied  to 
any  extent  must  ever  fall  immeasurably  short  of  the  same  glory. 
We  sav  on  the  contrary,  if  this  idea  of  union  between  the  divine 
and  human  be  true,  and  the  actualization  of  it  necessary  to  satisfy 
the  deepest  want  of  the  human  spirit ;  and  if  every  idea  that  is 
to  be  acknowledged  as  true  and  divine,  requires  to  become 
actual ;  then  what  the  race  fails  to  furnish  here,  we  must  seek  in 
an  individual.  All  that  the  case  demands,  has  been  clearly 
reached  in  Christ.  In  his  person  then  the  absolute  consumma- 
tion of  the  religious  life  is  brought  to  view,  not  in  thought  merely, 
but  also  in  reality.  All  that  remains,  is  that  the  theanthropic 
life  thus  constituted  in  the  Redeemer  himself,  should  be  unfolded 
and  carried  out  more  and  more  in  the  human  world.  On  this 
ground  Christianity  is  the  absolute  religion  in  which  all  other 
religions  may  be  said  to  culminate  and  become  complete.  Re- 
ligion and  Humanity  here  are  one,  equally  universal  and  equally 
permanent. 

11. 

Finally,  it  is  Ironi  this  point  that  all  which  is  comprised  in 
Christianity  may  be  best  arranged  and  understood.  It  serves 
to  set  each  part  in  its  true  light  and  proper  position. 

So  in  the  case  of  Doctrine.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  is  not  an 
original  or  principal  interest  in  Christianity,  existing  for  itself  or 
by  itself.  Its  office  is  simply  to  represent  and  exhibit  life.  Like 
the  statue  of  Mercury  with  which  the  Alcibiades  of  Plato  com- 
pares Socrates,  it  is  only  as  it  were  the  hull,  in  which  the  real 
image   of  the  deity,  the  person  of  the  God-man,  is  enshrined. 


40  PRELIR5SNARY    ESSAY. 

Self-representation  and  self-testimony,  as  before  said,  formed  the 
main  object  in  ClKist'^  work.  Tliis  included  doctrine,  it  is  true; 
but  always  only  in  the  one  great  relation  now  affirmed.  Only 
as  significant  of  the  very  life  and  being  of  Christ  himself,  conid 
it  have  any  value  or  force.  Doctrine  gives  us  Christianity  in 
an  outward  way  ;  but  the  life  of  Christ  is  Christianity. 

Here  also  the  idea  of  Revelation,  which  is  more  full  than  that 
of  Doctrine  though  closely  connected  with  it,  comes  to  stand  in 
its   true  light.     Revelation  is  not  simply  an    extension  of  the 
knowledge  of  God  theoretically  considered ;  as  it  can  have  place, 
for  a  sinful  world,  only  hand  in  hand  with  the  removal  of  sin  or 
redemption,   it  must    unfold   an    actual   economy  of  grace   and 
power  for  this  purpose,  a  real  manifestation  of  God,  as  actively 
employed  in  the  work  of  educating,  enlightening,  redeeming  and 
sanctifying  the  human  race.     In  this  case  again,  the  bare  word 
is  not  enough.     Revelation  in   this   form  stands  higher  indeed 
than  the   dumb,  unclear  revelation   of  mere  nature;  but  it  falls 
itself  again  far  short  of  revelation  in  the  form  of  an  act.     Only 
in  this  last  form  by  a  sum  of  salvation  acts,  unfolding  his  mind 
and  will,  can  the  living  God  become  fully  revealed.     In  the  Old 
Testament  we  find  a   preparatory,  shadowy  approximation  to- 
wards this  end.    But  the  case  required  at  last  the  personal  mani- 
festation of  grace   and   truth,  as  they  have  been  made  to  dwell 
among  us  by  Jesus  Christ.     In  this  sense  alone  is  Christianity 
a  revelation,  as  the  whole  person  of  Christ,  including  his  words 
and   works,  his  life  and  death,  his  resurrection  and  exaltation, 
serves  to  bring  into  actual  view  the  Vvill  of  God  as  concerned  in 
the   salvation  of  men.     This   required  on   the  part  of  the  Re- 
deemer a  full  identification  of  mind  and  nature  with  God.     But 
for  this  very  reason,  he  himself,  his  person  and  not  his  doctrine, 
constitutes  the  revelation   presented  in  Christianity ;  and  so,  as 
being  in  liim  rather  than  through  him,  it  must  be  regarded  as 
holding,  not  in  any  separate  function  of  his  life,  but  in  the  undi- 
vided whole  of  his  personality  and  history,  his  being  and  work- 
ing, doctrine,  life,   death,  resurrection   and   glorification  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  all  that  he  was  and  is,  as  well  as  all  that  he 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  ^  41 

has  done  and  is  doing  still,  as  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church 
to  the  end  of  lime. 

Christianity  is  also  Moral  Law.  If  however  it  were  law 
only  or  law  essentially  even,  it  would  not  have  transcended  the 
order  of  the  Jewish  religion  ;  it  would  be  at  best  a  reformed, 
generalized  Judaism  only,  bringing  with  it  no  freedom  or  life, 
but  leaving  men  still  under  the  curse  of  sin  and  guilt.  Law, 
however  refined,  always  remains  law,  somethiijg  over  against 
the  man,  an  outward  sludl^  whose  nature  it  is  to  exact,  accuse, 
condemn,  and  kill.  Spirit  only  and  love  can  animate,  and  both 
spring  only  from  personal  life.  By  the  all  prevailing  principle 
of  love  the  law  was  fulfilled  in  Christ's  life ;  and  now  with  the 
communication  of  Christ's  spirit,  the  spirit  and  power  of  the 
same  active  obedience  are  received  at  the  same  time.  Thus  the 
law  comes  to  be  written  in  the  heart,  and  loses  its  character  of 
mere  outward  authority  in  that  of  a  spontaneous  impulse  be- 
longing to  the  inmost  life  of  its  subject.  Christianity  has  by 
fulfilling  it  taken  it  out  of  the  way.  To  look  upon  Christianity 
itself  then  as  being  of  the  same  nature,  is  not  indeed  wholly 
wrong,  since  it  has  its  legal,  judicial  side,  as  related  to  the  im- 
penitent sinner  ;  but  it  is  to  come  short  of  the  true  depth  of  what 
is  comprehended  in  the  gospel.  Freedom,  redemption  from  the 
law,  is  the  main  thinof. 

Again,  Christianity  is  Redemption  and  Atonement ;  but  in 
this  view  also,  it  has  its  last  and  deepest  root  in  the  unity  of 
Christ  with  God.  Judaism  had  no  power  to  set  men  free  in  this 
way.  Its  salvation  stood  mainly  in  symbolical  provisions,  that 
could  not  take  away  sin  itself  or  reach  to  the  creation  of  a  new 
spiritual  life.  This  required  the  medium  of  an  Rciu^l  personality, 
entering  freely  into  a  communion  of  life  with  the  subjects  of 
redemption  -,  and  could  be  reached,  in  an  absolute  perfect  way, 
only  where  all  that  was  to  be  abolished  by  this  redemption  on 
the  one  hand,  and  all  that  was  to  be  produced  from  it  positively 
on  the  other,  might  be  found  originally  and  completely  aboHshed 
and  actualized  in  this  personality  itself.  Only  one  who  is  him- 
self morally  free  can  impart  freedom  to  others ;  and  he  that  is 
to  set  all  free,  must  necessarily  be   sinlessly  perfect  and  fully 

4* 


42  PRELIMINARY  ESSAY. 

united  with  God.  Such  a  life  however,  overflowing  with  bles- 
sedness and  love,  would  include  in  its  very  nature,  by  its  relation 
to  humanity,  the  power  of  a  universal  redemption ;  for  it  must 
communicate  itself  with  necessity  to  others,  whose  sense  of  want 
Avould  at  the  same  time  urge  them  to  lay  hold  of  it  as  their  own, 
while  its  divine  constitution  rendered  it  impossible  that  its  fulness 
could  ever  be  in  this  way  exhausted  or  impaired.  But  redemption, 
to  be  complete,  demands  atonement,  pardon  of  sin  and  peace 
Avith  God.  Such  reconciliation  again  can  be  efTecled  only  by 
one,  in  whose  soul  the  love  and  grace  of  God  are  identical  with 
the  consciousness  of  life  itself,  and  whose  life  appears  in  such 
palpable  unity  of  blessedness  with  God,  as  to  exert  u  sort  of 
moral  violence  on  men  in  drawintj  them  into  the  same  commu- 
nion.  The  original  unity  of  Christ  with  the  Father  then,  the 
being  of  God  in  his  person,  is  the  basis  on  which  rests  the 
atonement  or  restoration  of  union  between  man  and  God;  and  it 
is  with  good  heed  to  the  order  of  his  w^ords  no  doubt  that  the 
great  apostle  says:  "God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world 
unto  himself,"  plainly  intimating  that  the  existence  of  God  in 
Christ  was  and  still  is  that  which  holds  the  first  place  as  a  cause, 
while  the  atonement  flows  from  it  as  an  effect. 

And  so  all  besides  in  Christianity  receives  from  this  ground 
thought,  or  ground  fact  rather,  its  proper  light  and  position. 
Here  the  Christian  Theology  and  Anthropology  come  to  their 
true  termination  and  living  conjunction;  they  are  not  left  to  de- 
vour each  other,  but  find  their  completion  in  Christology.  God 
appears  in  the  fulness  of  his  condescension  and  self-communi- 
cating love;  man  in  his  highest  form  of  dignity  and  grandeur. 
On  both  sides  the  revelation  satisfies  the  deepest  religious  want 
of  our  nature,  restores  to  the  spiritual  world  its  inward  harmony, 
and  solves  the  riddle  of  the  universe.  The  miraculous  also, 
with  which  the  manifestation  of  the  God-man  is  attended,  be- 
comes natural  and  intelligible;  since  such  an  actual  entrance  of 
the  divine  into  the  life  of  the  world,  must  necessarily  involve 
the  presence  of  higher  powers  and  laws.  'i'\\G  resurrection  of 
Christ  in  particular,  which  has  been  from  the  first  the  grand 
prop  of  Christianity  in  its  historical  aspect,  appears  but  as  the 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  43 

natural  and  necessary  consequence  of  the  divine  life  which 
filled  the  constitution  of  his  person  ;  while  it  forms  besides,  in 
virtue  of  the  life  bond  that  unites  him  with  his  people,  the 
ground  of  the  whole  Christian  Eschatology,  as  connected  with 
the  resurrection  of  believers. 

12. 

In  the  way  of  brief  recapitulation,  our  view  of  the  whole 
subject  may  be  expressed  as  follows. 

That  which  forms  the  specific,  distinctive  character  of  Chris- 
tianity is  not  its  doctrine  nor  its  morality,  nor  even  its  power 
of  redeniption  ;  but  the  peculiar  constitution  and  religious  signi- 
ficance of  its  Founder,  as  uniting  divinity  and  humanity,  truly 
and  perfectly,  in  his  person.  Doctrine,  law  and  redemption  rest 
on  this  as  their  basis. 

As  doctrine  Christianity  addresses  itself  to  the  understanding 
of  man,  as  law  to.  his  will;  in  both  cases,  as  something  outward 
and  mechanical,  rather  than  as  having  power  to  produce  a  living 
piety.  In  the  character  of  redemption,  it  reaches  to  the  heart, 
and  unfolds  in  much  higher  degree  its  true  life-giving,  dynamic 
nature  ;  but  viewed  only  in  this  light  it  is  still  but  imperfectly 
apprehended,  as  an  inward  state  or  mere  matter  of  feeling.  Its 
complete  sense  and  full  objective  value  are  reached,  only  when 
all  is  referred  to  the  person  of  Christ,  in  which  God  appears 
united  with  humanity,  and  which  by  its  very  constitution  accord- 
ingly carries _in  it  a  reconciling,  redeeming,  quickening  and  en- 
lightening efficacy.  Thus  apprehended,  Christianity  is  in  the 
fullest  sense  organic,  in  its  nature.  It  reveals  itself  as  a  peculiar  ' 
order  of  life  in  Christ,  and  from  him  as  a  personal  centre  it 
reaches  forth  towards  man  as  a  whole,  in  the  way  of  true  his- 
torical self-evolution,  seeking  to  form  the  entire  race  into  a 
glorious  kingdom  of  God.  From  this  centre  all  takes  its  full 
significance  ;  doctrine  becomes  power ;  law  is  turned  into  life ; 
redemption  and  reconciliation  find  a  solid  objective  basis,  on 
which  to  rest.     The  natural  and  the  human,  sanctified  by  union 


44  PRELIMINARY    ESSAY. 

with  the  divine  in  Christ,  are  sanctified  also  for  all  wlio  partake 
of  his  spirit  and  life.  Christianity  thus  neither  deifies  the  natural 
as  such,  nor  yet  opposes  it  as  evil;  but  purifies  and  transfigures 
it,  and  restores  it  to  its  true  divine  destination.  It  is  the  religion 
of  Humanity,  in  which  the  life  of  man  as  man  is  advanced  to  its 
full  perfection  and  glory. 

In  any  case,  the  two  highest  conceptions  of  Christianity  are 
those,  by  which  it  is  made  to  be  either  the  religion  of  redemption 
or  the  rehgion  of  the  unity  of  God  and  humanity.  These  con- 
dition and  complete  each  otjier.  Redemption  was  possible  only 
through  this  unity ;  and  the  unity  comes  to  its  full  significance 
only  as  it  works  redemption.  The  unity  is  inward,  the  redemp- 
tion goes  abroad ;  this  last  the  heart  of  Christianity,  the  other 
its  head  and  mind.  The  apprehension  of  Chri^stianity  as  re- 
demption rests  more  on  Paul's  way  of  thinking,  the  apprehension 
of  it  as  union  with  God  on  that  rather  whicli  we  find  in  John  ; 
the  first  retrards  chiefly  the  hindrances  to  be  overcome  and  is 
more  practical,  the  last  looks  chiefly  to  the  crowning  end  and  is 
more  mystical  and  speculative;  the  first  has  to  do  most  with 
faith  and  hope,  the  last  with  love.  Inasmuch  now  however  as 
redemption  starts  from  the  unity  of  Christ  with  God  and  leads 
to  the  union  of  mankind  generally  with  him  as  its  ultimate  scope  ; 
inasmuch  as  redemption  must  cease  when  there  is  no  more  sin, 
while  the  unity  it  restores,  like  the  love  on  which  it  rests,  can 
never  fail ;  inasmuch  accordingly  as  redempiion  belongs  more 
to  time  and  the  present  state  of  the  world,  whilst  union  with 
God  is  something  absolutely  eternal,  the  end  thus  as  it  is  the  be- 
ginning, the  alpha  and  omega  of  the  whole  process;  we  must 
hold  this  last  to  be  the  high  all  ruling  constituent  in  the  nature  of 
Christianity.  And  so  we  say,  putting  all  together,  Christianity 
is  that  religion  which  in  the  person  of  its  author  has  actualized 
in  fact,  what  all  other  religions  liave  struggled  in  vain  to  reach, 
the  unity  of  man  with  God;  and  which  as  the  power  of  a  new 
creation  organically  working  from  this  centre,  by  doctrine  and 
moral  energy,  by  redemption  and  reconciliation,  conducts  men  as 
individuals  and  as  a  race   to  their  true  destination,  to  full  com- 


PRELIMINARY    ESSAY.  45 

munion  and  union  with  God,  whereby  all  Hfe  is  sanctified  and 
exalted  into  a  higher  order  of  existence. 

This  view  of  Christianity  is  not  absolutely  new.  We  meet 
with  it  under  a  different  form,  in  the  older  Mysticism,  as  ex- 
hibited in  Germany  during  the  middle  ages.  For  this  school 
also  the  union  of  God  and  man  through  the  incarnation  of  the 
first  and  the  deification  of  the  second,  forms  the  cardinal  idea  in 
the  religion  of  Christ.  In  this,  as  well  as  in  its  whole  treatment 
of  Christianity,  it  shows  a  striking  affinity  with  the  modern 
speculative  philosophy ;  except  that  what  is  the  result  in  this  last 
case  of  thought,  reflection,  criticism  even,  springs  in  the  other 
from  the  force  of  deep,  inward  religious  fervor,  and  of  course 
carries  on  this  account  a  different  meaning.  The  general  point 
of  coincidence  is  found  in  this,  that  Mysticism  also  transfers  the 
objective  forces  of  religion  into  the  spirit,  and  allows  them  thus 
to  lose  their  proper  reality.  The  historical  transforms  itself  into 
the  inward;  Christ  is  not  so  much  the  outward  Saviour  who 
once  lived  in  Palestine,  as  he  is  the  Redeemer  that  still  lives, 
with  new  birth,  in  every  pious  man  ;  his  history  is  accommo- 
dated to  the  spiritual  life  of  the  believer  himself,  and  this,  the 
Christ  within  us,  becomes  the  main  thing,  from  which  the  out- 
ward also  first  receives  its  true  significance.  Here  again  how- 
ever we  must  distinguish  carefully  between  two  tendencies  ;  the 
properly  pantheistic  Mysticism,  whose  chief  representative  is 
Master  Echart,  so  highly  lauded  by  the  modern  speculation, 
and  the  prevailingly  theistic.  In  the  view  of  the  first,  union 
with  the  divine  nature  is  taken  to  be  the  product  of  thought,  a 
point  in  the  developement  of  consciousness ;  Christ  in  the  end 
is  but  the  type  of  humanity,  and  his  history  only  figure  and  al- 
legory ;  he  was  the  first  who  came  to  the  sense  of  his  sonship 
in  the  relation  to  God;  by  him  we  learn  that  we  also  partake  of 
the  same  nature,  and  are  in  like  manner  sons  of  God.  In  the 
other  case,  the  unity  of  Christ  with  God  is  regarded  as  the  re- 
sult of  a  free  act  of  self-communication  on  the  part  of  God, 
conditioned  by  the  moral  character  of  Christ,  who  awordingly 
carries  with  him  more  weight  as  a  historical  prototype  ;  and  so 


4G  PRELIMINARY  ESSAY. 

also  the  union  with  God  wliich  is  efTectcd  for  men  through  Christ 
is  of  a  far  more  decidedly  moral  nature.  The  first  view  resolves 
it  mainly  into  the  exercise  of  thinking;  here  it  is  reached  by  an 
essentially  ethical  or  even  ascetic  process.  There  it  is  a  matter|| 
of  nature;  here,  a  matter  of  grace,  made  possible  through  the 
redeeming  influence  of  Christ,  by  mortification  and  a  nevir  in- 
ward life.  The  pantheistic  Mysticism  is  the  pattern  and  pre- 
cursor of  the  modern  speculation  ;  the  thcistic,  on  the  other 
hand,  by  the  inwardness  and  warmth  of  its  religious  life,  pre- 
pared the  way  on  one  side  for  the  Reformation.  In  the  Refor- 
mation however,  a  new  element  came  forward.  The  Mystics  1 
had  more  or  less  overlooked  one  thing,  the  dark  point  in  human 
life,  sin  and  the  need  of  redemption  and  atonement.  The  con-; 
sciousness  of  this  was  powerfully  awakened  in  Luther,  and 
wrought  with  vast  efilect  in  the  work  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Deliverance  from  the  power  of  sin,  and  reconciliation  with  God, 
were  now  felt  to  be  the  main  thing  in  Christianity ;  and  as  re- 
demption in  this  form  could  not  be  accomplished  by  an  ideal 
image,  but  only  by  a  real  person,  the  historical  personality  of 
Christ  was  clothed  again  with  new  authority  and  prominence. 
Thus  was  found  once  more  the  historico-ideal  centre  of  Chris- 
tianity. Still  however,  on  the  part  of  the  Reformers,  principally 
under  one  view  ;  Christ  as  a  real  Redeemer  and  Mediator  ;  but 
not  with  proper  regard  to  that  quality  of  his  nature,  by  which  alone 
he  has  this  character,  his  perfect  unity  with  God,  constituting 
him  at  the  same  time  a  historical  prototype  and  pattern  for  hu- 
manity. This  refers  us  back  again  to  the  fundamental  idea  of 
the  Mystics ;  but  while  we  appropriate  this  in  a  more  ripe  and 
better  digested  sense  we  cannot  consent  to  lose  the  true  and 
genuine  acquisition  which  was  made  by  the  Reformation.  We 
have  endeavoured  accordingly  to  place  the  subject  in  such  a  form  : 
as  may  serve  to  combine  what  is  right  in  both  views,  the  more 
practical  of  the  Reformation  and  the  more  speculative  of  the 
better  Mystics.  Christianity,  we  say,  is  by  all  means,  essen-  i 
tially  and  primarily,  the  religion  of  unity  with  God  in  its  Founder 
and  union  with  God  in  believers;  but  all  this  in  its  right  sense, 


PRELIMINARY  ESSAY.  47 

)nly  when  tlie  conception  is  found  to  rest  on  the  inalienable 
Christian  idea  of  a  personal  God,  and  along  with  this  the  ele- 
Tients  of  redemption  and  reconciliation,  repentance  and  faith, 
knowledge  and  sanctification,  are  allowed  to  maintain  their  an- 
liority  full  and  unimpaired,  as  dependent  but  still  indispensable 
!onstituents  of  the  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus. 


THE  MYSTICAL  PRESENCE. 


5;  ^w)j  £^ai'fpu»^>;>. — 'O  f;;t<ov  I'or  utof,  t;:^*''  '^*;^'  ^w*;*'' — JoHN. 
©tti/ar'co^ftj  |U£f  aapxi,  ^wortotj^^ftj  St  Tivtv^atv. — Peter. 

Eyfi^fT'o  o  tcf;taT'05  ^A8a/x  si^  rtpsifxa  ^iooTioioiv- — 'O  6f  xoXXw^fi'oj  tu» 
xijptaj,  iV  Tivivixd  isft.—^'Eati,  cwjua  7tvsv^att,x6v. — "Ort  ^f^»;  iof^hv  t'ov 
Goijxato^  avfovi  ix  tr^i  aapxoj  avroD,  zat  f x  tciv  66tH(iv  avtov — To  ^vctr^^iov 
tov'to  (xsya  Ectiv. — Paul. 

To  rysysi'vtjixhop  ix  t'ov  Ttvivfiatoi,  rtvsv^d  iati. — 'Eyw  il/xc  rj  OLvdataais 
xai  vj  ^OiYi. — '^  T'pwycov  ^lov  tr^p  odpxa,  xav  Ttivav  [xov  to  cufia,  iXit  C^^r^v 
aiuiviop'  xa.1  fyco  dj-aoT'jjcfw  av-thv  trj  toxdtri  rji^pa. — "07*1  £yto  ^w,  xai  ijUftj 
^r6sn^e. — Jesus  Christ. 


I 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  REFORMED  OR  CALVINISTIC  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  LORD'S 

SUPPER. 


INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 

The  Question  of  the  Evcharist  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant belonging  to  the  history  of  religion.  It  may  be  regarded 
indeed  as  in  some  sense  central  to  the  whole  Christian  system. 
For  Christianity  is  grounded  in  the  living  union  of  the  believer 
with  the  person  of  Christ ;  and  this  great  fact  is  emphatically 
concentrated  in  the  mystery  of  the  Lord's  Supper;  which  has 
always  been  clothed  on  this  very  account,  to  the  consciousness 
of  the  Church,  with  a  character  of  sanctity  and  solemnity,  sur- 
passing that  of  any  other  Christian  institution. 

The  sacramental  controversy  of  the  sixteenth  century  then 
was  no^mere  war  of  words;  much  less  the  offspring  of  mere  pre- 
judice, passion  or  blind  self-will,  as  many  in  their  fanatical 
superiority  to  the  vast  problem  involved  in  it  are  ready  to  ima- 
gine. It  belonged  to  the  inmost  sanctuary  of  theology,  and  was 
intertwined  particularly  with  all  the  arteries  of  the  Christian  life. 
This  was  felt  by  the  spiritual  heroes  of  the  Reformation.  They 
had  no  right  to  overlook  the  question  which  was  here  thrown  in 
their  way,  or  to  treat  it  as  a  question  of  small  importance,  whose 
claims  might  safely  be  postponed  in  favour  of  other  interests, 
that  might  appear  to  be  brought  into  jeopardy  by  its  agitation. 
That  this  should  seem  so  easy  to  much  of  our  modern  Protest- 
antism, serves  only  to  show,  what  is  shown  also  by  many  other 
facts,  that  much  of  our  modern  Protestantism  has  fallen  away 
sadly  from  the  theological  earnestness  and  depth  of  the  period 
to  which  we  now  refer.  With  the  revival  of  a  deeper  theology, 
there  cannot  fiiil  to  be  a  revival  of  interest  also,  on  the  part  of 
the  Church,  in  the  sacramental  question ;  as  on  the  other  hand 
there  can  be  no  surer  sign  than  the  want  of  such  interest,  in 
the  case  of  any  section  of  the  Church  at  any  given  time,  that 
its  theology  is  without  power  and  its  piety  infected  with  disease. 

On  this  question,  it  is  well  known,  the  Protestant  world  split, 
from  the  very  beginning,  into  two  great  divisions,  which  have 
never   come   siuce  to  a  true    and   full    inward    reconciliation. 


o2  THE    MYSTICAL   PRESENCfe.  ^ 

Strangely  enough  however  both  sections  of  the  Church  have 
seriously  receded,  to  no  inconsiderable  extent,  from  the  ground 
on  which  they  stood  in  the  sixteenth  century.  This  fact  is  most 
broadly  and  palpably  apparent  in  the  modern  posture  of  the 
Lutheran  Chnrch,  especially  as  known  on  this  side  of  the  Atlan- 
tic. All  who  have  any  knowledge  whatever  of  history,  are  aware 
that  the  American  Lutheran  Church,  in  its  reigning  character, 
has  entirely  forsaken  at  this  point  the  position  originally  occu- 
pied by  the  same  communion  in  the  old  world.  Not  only  indeed 
lias  the  proper  Lutheran  position  been  surrendered  in  favour  of 
the  Reformed  doctrine;  but  even  this  doctrine  itself,  as  it  stood 
in  the  beginning,  has  come  to  be  looked  upon  as  altogether  too 
high  toned  in  the  same  direction;  so  that  the  very  view  which 
was  denounced  in  the  days  of  Joachim  Westphal  and  Tilcmann 
Jlesshuss,  as  foul  sacramentarian  heresy,  by  which  cities  and  na- 
tions were  exposed  tothefierce  judgments  of  heaven,  is  now  count- 
ed an  extreme  on  precisely  the  opposite  side,  little  better  than  the 
popish  error  of  transubstantiation  itself  But  this  falling  away 
from  the  orthodoxy  of  the  sixteenth  century  is  not  confined  to 
the  Lutheran  Church.  The  viewof  the  Eucharist  now  generally 
predominant  in  the  Reformed  Church  also,  involves  a  similar 
departure,  not  so  broad  indeed  but  equally  material,  from  its  pro- 
per original  creed,  as  exhibited  in  its  symbolical  books.  An 
unchurchly,  rationalistic  tendency,  has  been  allowed  to  carry 
the  Church  gradually  more  and  more  off  from  the  ground  it  occu- 
pied in  the  beginning,  till  its  position  is  founjd  to  be  at  length, 
to  a  large  extent,  a  new  one  altogether. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case,  this  change  must  involve  much 
more  than  the  simple  substitution  of  one  theory  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  for  another.  The  doctrine  of  the  eucharistis  intimately 
connected  with  all  that  is  most  deep  and  central  in  the  Chris- 
tian system  as  a  whole ;  and  it  is  not  possible  for  it  to  undergo 
any  material  modification  in  any  direction,  without  a  correspond- 
ing modification  at  the  same  time  of  the  theory  and  life  of  reli- 
gion at  other  points.  If  it  be  true  then,  that  such  a  falling  away 
from  the  eucharistic  view  of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  is  now 
asserted,  has  taken  place  in  the  Reformed  Church,  it  is  very 
certain  that  the  revolution  is  not  confined  to  this  point.  It 
must  affect  necessarily  the  whole  view,  that  is  entertained  of 
Christ's  person,  the  idea  of  the  Church,  and  the  doctrine  of  sal- 
vation throughout.  Not  that  the  change  in  the  theory  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  may  be  considered  the  origin  and  cause,  properly 
speaking,  of  any  such  general  theological  revolution  ;  but  be- 
cause it  could  not  occur,  excej)t  as  accompanied  by  this  general 
revolution,  of  which  it  may  be  taken  as  the  most  significant 
exponent  and  measure. 


CALVINISTIC.  DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORd's    SUPPER.  53 

Under  this  view,  llie  subject  presents  itself  to  us,  as  one  of 
great  interest  and  importance.  The  question  involved  in  it,  is 
not  one  of  historical  curiosity  simply,  the  bearings  of  which 
in  a  religious  view  may  be  regarded  as  indifferent  or  of  only 
slight  account,  It  is  a  question  of  the  utmost  moment  for 
theology  and  religion,  which  at  this  time  particularly  no  friend 
of  our  evangelical  Protestant  faith  should  consider  himself  at 
liberty  to  overlook.* 

To  see  and  feel  the  truth  of  the  assertion,  that  the  modern 
popular  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  chargeable  with  a  serious 
defection  from  the  original  Protestant  orthodoxy  at  this  point,  it 
is  only  necessary  to  have  some  correct  apprehension  of  what 
was  actually  believed  and  taught  on  the  subject,  by  the  Reformed 
Church  as  well  as  by  the  Lutheran,  in  the  age  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. This  cannot  fail  of  itself  to  reveal,  in  the  way  of  contrast, 
the  true  posture  of  the  Church  at  the  present  time. 

It  is  of  course  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Hcformed  Church 
only,  in  the  view  now  mentioned,  as  distinguished  from  the 
Lutheran,  that  the  present  inquiry  is  concerned.  Our  object  is, 
to  bring  into  view  the  theory  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  it  stood 
in  the  general  creed  of  this  section  of  the  Church  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  This  requires,  in  the  first  place,  a  clear  statement  of 
the  theory  itself;  in  the  second  place,  proper  evidence  that  it 
was  in  fact  of  such  established  authority  in  the  period  just  named. 

*  '*  The  eighteenth  century  came,  and  the  same  processes  which  were  used 
for  shutting  out  the  invisible  in  every  other  direction  were  applied  also  in  this. 
And  yet  tens  of  thousands  of  men  and  women  in  every  part  of  Europe,  would 
in  that  day  have  rather  parted  with  their  lives,  or  with  any  thing  more  dear  to 
them,  than  with  this  feast.  And  now,  in  this  nineteenth  century,  there  are  not 
a  few  persons,  who,  meditating  on  these  different  experiments,  have  arrived  at 
this  deep  and  inward  conviction,  that  the  question  whether  Christianity  shall 
be  a  practical  principle  and  truth  in  the  hearts  of  men,  or  shall  be  exchanged 

jfor  a  set  of  intellectual  notions  or  generalizations,  depends  mainly  on  the 
question  whether  the  Eucharist  shall  or  shall  not  be  acknowledged  and 
received  as  the  bond  of  a  universal  life,  and  the  means  whereby  men  become 
partakers  of  it."     Maurice^s  Kingdom  of  Christ.     (London,  1S4.2.)     Vol.  ii., 

ip.  72. 


5* 


54  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

SECTION  I. 

STATEMENT    OF    THE    DOCTRINE. 

To  obtain  a  proper  view  of  the  original  doctrine  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  on  the  subject  of  the  eucharist,  we  must  have 
recourse  particularly  to  Calvin.  Not  that  he  is  to  be  considered 
the  creator,  properly  speaking,  of  the  doctrine.  It  grew  evi- 
dently out  of  the  general  religious  life  of  the  church  itself,  in  its 
antagonism  to  the  Lutheran  dogma  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
low  Socinian  extreme  on  the  other.  Calvin  however  was  the 
theological  organ,  by  which  it  first  came  to  that  clear  expression, 
under  which  it  continued  to  be  uttered  subsequently  in  the  sym- 
bolical books.  His  profound  far-reaching  and  deeply  penetrating 
mind  drew  forth  the  doctrine  from  the  heart  of  the  Church,  ex- 
hibited it  in  its  proper  relations,  proportions  and  distinctions, 
gave  it  form  in  this  way  for  the  understanding,  and  clothed  it 
with  authority  as  a  settled  article  of  faith  in  the  general  creed. 
He  may  be  regarded  then  as  the  accredited  interpreter  and  ex- 
pounder of  the  article,  for  all  later  times.  A  better  interpreter 
in  tbe  case,  we  could  not  possibly  possess.  Happily,  too,  his 
instructions  and  explanations  here  are  very  full  and  explicit. 
He  comes  upon  the  subject  from  all  sides,  and  handles  it  under 
all  forms,  didactically  and  controversially  ;  so  that  we  are  left  in 
no  uncertainty  whatever,  with  regard  to  his  meaning,  at  a  single 
point. 

Any  theory  of  the  eucharist  will  be  found  to  accord  closely 
with  the  view  that  is  taken,  at  the  same  time  of  the  nature  of  the 
union  generally  between  Christ  and  his  people.  Whatever  the 
life  of  the  believer  may  be  as  a  whole  in  this  relation,  it  must 
determine  the  form  of  his  communion  with  the  Saviour  in  the 
sacrament  of  the  Supper,  as  the  central  representation  of  its  sig- 
nificance and  power.  Thus,  the  sacramental  doctrine  of  the 
j)rimitive  Reformed  Church  stands  inseparably  connected  with 
the  idea  of  an  inward  living  union  between  believers  and  Christ, 
in  virtue  of  which  they  are  incorporated  into  his  very  nature, 
and  made  to  subsist  with   him  by  the  power  of  a  common  life.* 

*  Conjiinctio  igitur  ilia  capitis  et  nienibrornm,  liabitatio  Cliristi  in  cordibus 
r\ostr\s,  mystica  dcnique  unio  a.  noh'is  in  summo  gradu  staluitur;  ut  ClirisUis 
noster  f actus,  donoruni,  (juibiis  prai-ditus  est,  nos  iaciat  consortes.  Non  ergo 
extra  nos  procul  speculamur,  ut  nobis  imjputetur  ejus  jiistitia  :  sed  cinia  ipsum 
induimus,  et  insili  srinuts  in  ejus  corpus,  umiin  denique  nos  seciim  efficere  dig- 
natus  est ;  ideo  jiistitise  socielatem  nobis  cum  eo  esse  gloriamur.  Calvin.  Inst. 
iii.  11,  10. 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORd's    SUPPER.  55 

In  fall  correspondence  with  this  conception  of  the  Christian 
salvation,  as  a  process  by  which  the  believer  is  mystically' inserted 
more  and  more  into  the  person  of  Christ,  till  he  becomes  thus 
at  last  fully  transformed  into  his  image,  it  was  held  that  nothing 
less  than  such  a  real  participation  of  his  living  person  is  involved 
always  in  the  right  use  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  following 
distinctions  may  serve  to  define  and  explain  more  fully,  the 
nature  of  the  communion  which  holds  between  Christ  and  his 
people,  in  the  whole  view  now  mentioned,  as  taught  by  Calvin 
and  the  Reformed  Church  generally,  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

1.  The  union  o^ believers  with  Christ  is  not  simply  that  of  a 
common  humanity,  as  derived  from  Adam.  In  this  view,  all 
men  partake  of  one  and  the  same  nature,  and  each  may  be  said 
to  be  in  relation  to  his  neighbour  bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of 
his  flesh.  So  Christ  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of  angels,  but 
of  men.  He  was  born  of  a  woman,  and  appeared  among  us  in 
the  likeness  and  fashion  of  our  own  life,  only  without  sin.  But 
plainly  our  relation  to  his  nature,  and  through  this  to  his  medi- 
atorial work,  as  christians,  is  something  quite  different  from  this 
general  consanguinity  of  the  human  race.  Where  we  are  said 
to  be  of  the  same  life  with  him,  "  members  of  his  body,  of  his 
flesh  and  of  his  bones,"  it  is  not  on  the  ground  merely  of  a  joint 
participation  with  him  in  the  nature  of  Adam,  but  on  the  ground 
of  our  participation  in  his  own  nature  as  a  higher  order  of  life. 
Our  relation  to  him  is  not  circuitous  and  collateral  only  ;  it  holds 
in  a  direct  connection  with  his  person.* 

2.  In  this  view,  the  relation  is  more  again  than  a  simply  ?worr// 
union.  Such  a  union  we  have,  where  two  or  more  persons  are 
bound  together  by  inward  agreement,  sympathy,  and  correspond- 
ence. Every  common  friendship  is  of  tliis  sort.  It  is  the  relation 
of  the  disciple  to  the  master,  whom  he  loves  and  reveres.  It  is 
the  relation  of  the  devout  Jew  to  Moses,  his  venerated  lawgiver 
and  prophet.  It  holds  also  undoubtedly  between  the  believer  and 
Christ.  The  Saviour  lives  much  in  his  thoughts  and  affections. 
He  looks  to  him  with  an  eye  of  faith,  embraces  him  in  his  heart, 
commits  himself  to  his  guidance,  walks  in  his  steps,  and  endea- 
vours to  become  clothed  more  and  more  with  his  very  mind  itself. 
In  the  end  the  correspondence  will  be  found  complete.   We  shall 

*  Carnis  et  sanguinis  communicationem  non  tantum  interpreter  de  commvni 
natnra,  quod  Cristus  homo  f actus ']\ixe  fraternaj  societatis  nos  Dei  filios  secum 
fecerit :  sed  distincte  afliriuo,  ^zmwi  a /?oft/s  sumpsit  carneyn,  earn  nobis  esse 
vivificam,  ut  nobis  sit  materia  spiritualis  vitce.  Illamque  Augustini  sententiam 
libenter  amplector,  Sicut  ex  costa  Ada^  creata  iuit  Eva,  sic  ex  Ciiristi  latere 
fluxisse  nobis  vitai  originem  et  principium.  Calvin,  De  Vera  Partic.  0pp. 
Tom.  ix.  {Amst.  Ed.)  p.  726 — Neqwe  enini  ossa  sunius  ex  ossibus  et  caro  ex 
came,  quia  ipse  nobiscum  est  homo  ;  sed  quia  Spiritus  sui  virtute  nos  in  cor- 
pus suum  inserit,  ut  vitam  ex  eo  hauriatnus.     Id.  Coram,  on  Eph,  v.  30. 


56  THE    MYSTICAL   PRESENCE. 

be  like  him  in  all  respects,  one  with  him  morally,  in  the  fullest 
sense.  But  Christianity  includes  more  than  such  a  moral  union, 
separately  considered.  This  union  itself  is  only  the  result  here 
of  a  relation  more  inward  and  deep.  It  has  its  ground  in  the 
force  of  a  common  life,  in  virtue  of  which  Christ  and  his  people 
are  one  even  before  they  become  thus  assimilated  to  his  charac- 
tQv\  So  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper;  it  is  not  simply 
a  moral  approach  that  the  true  worshipper  is  permitted  to  make 
to  the  glorious  object  of  his  worshij).  His  communion  with 
Christ  does  not  consist  merely  in  the  good  exercises  of  his  own 
mind,  the  actings  of  faith,  and  contrition,  and  hope,  and  love,  the 
solemn  recollections,  the  devotional  feelings,  the  pious  resolu- 
tions, of  which  he  may  be  himself  the  subject,  during  the  sacra- 
mental service.*  Nor  is  the  sacrament  a  sign  only,  by  which  the 
memory  and  heart  may  be  assisted  in  calling  up  what  is  past  or 
absent,  for  the  purposes  of  devotion;  as  the  ])icture  of  a  friend 
is  suited  to  recal  his  image  and  revive  our  interest  in  his  person, 
when  he  is  no  longer  in  our  sight. f  Nor  is  it  a  pledge  simply  of 
our  own  consecration  to  the  service  of  Christ,  or  of  the  faithful- 
ness of  God  as  engaged  to  make  good  to  us  in  a  general  way  the 
grace  of  the  new  covenant;  as  the  rainbow  serves  still  to  ratify 
and  confirm  the  promise  given  to  Noah  after  theflood.l  All  this 
would  bring  with  it  in  the  end  nothing  more  than  a  moral  communi- 
cation with  Christ,  so  far  as  the  sacrament  itself  might  be  concerned. 
It  could  carry  with  it  no  virtue  or  force,  more  than  might  be  put 
into  it  in  every  case  by  the  spirit  of  the  worshipper  himself  Such 
however  is  not  the  nature  of  the  ordinance.  It  is  not  simply  an 
occasion,  by  which  the  soul  of  the  believer  may  be  excited  to 
pious  feelings  and  desires  ;  but  it  embodies  the  actual  presence 

*  Ubique  resonant  scripta  men,  differre  manducationem  a  fule,  quia  sit  fidf  i 
efFectns.  Nop.  a  triduo  ita  loqui  inca^pi,  nos  credendo  manducare  Ciiristinn, 
qma.ve7'e participes  ejus  facti  in  ejusc  orpus  coalescimus,  ut  nobis  communis  t^iL 
cum  eo  vita.  .  .  .  Quam  turpe  igitur  Wcstphalo  fuit,  quiim  diserte  verba  mra 
sonent,  manducare  aliud  esse  quam  credere  ;  quod  ego  fortiter  neso,  quasi  .i 
me  prof'ectum  impudenler  obtrudere  lectoribus !  .  .  .  Ejusdem  I'arince  c  ' 
quod  mox  attexit,  edere  corpus  Christi  tantundem  valere,  si  verbis  meis  locn  - 
(iatur,  quam  promissioncm  fide  red pere.  Sed  qtiomodo  tain  flagitiose  sc  pros- 
tituere  audct?     Calvin.  Adv.  Wealph.  0pp.  Tom.  ix..  p.  669. 

t  Ita  panis  non  inaiiis  est  rei  ahsentis  pictura,  sed  verum  ac  fidcic  nostrac 
cum  Christo  unionis  pignus.  Dicet  quispiam  non  aliter  panis  symbolo  aduni- 
brari  corpus  Cliristi,  ([uam  morfua  statiia  llerculem  vel  Mercuiium  rcpra^senlat. 
Hoc  certe  commentum  a  doctriiia  nostra  non  minus  remotum  est,  quam  pro- 
finum  a  sacro.  Calvin.  0pp.  2\  'iK.,p.  667. — Christus  neqne  pictor  est,  neque 
histrio,  neque  Archiniides  quispiam,  qui  innni  taiilum  objccta  imagine  oculos 
pascat,  sed  vere  et  rcipm  prccsfat  quod  externo  symbolo  promittit.     lb.  p.  727. 

\  Panis  ita  corpus  significat,  ut  verc,  efiica(?iter,  ac  reipsa  nos  ad  Christi 
communicationem  invitet.  Dicimus  enim  veritatem  quam  contmet  promissio, 
illic  exhibcri,  el  eflcctum  externo  signo  annexum  esse.  Tropus  ergo  signuni 
minime  evactiat,  sed  potius  ostendit  <]uomodo  non  sit  vacuum.  Calv.  0pp. 
T.\x.,p.661. 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE   OF    THE    LORD's    SUPPER.  57 

of  the  grace  it  represents  in  its  own  constitution ;  and  this  grace 
is  not  simply  the  promise  of  God  on  which  w^e  are  encouraged 
to  rely,  but  the  very  life  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself  We 
communicate,  in  the  Lord's  supper,  not  with  the  divine  promise 
merely,  not  with  the  thought  of  Christ  only,  not  with  the  recol- 
lection simply  of  what  he  has  done  and  suffered  for  us,  not  with 
the  lively  present  sense  alone  of  his  all-sufficient,  all-glorious  sal- 
vation; but  with  the  living  Saviour  himself,  in  the  fulness  of  his 
glorified  person,  made  present  to  us  for  the  purpose  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

3.  The  relation  of  believers  to  Christ,  .then,  is  more  again 
than  that  of  a  simply  legal  union.  He  is  indeed  the  representa- 
tive of  his  people,  and  what  he  has  done  and  suffered  on  their 
behalf  is  counted  to  their  benefit,  as  though  it  had  been  done  by 
themselves.  They  have  an  interest  in  his  merits,  a  title  to  all 
the  advantages  secured  by  his  life  and  death.  But  this  external 
imputation  rests  at  last  on  an  inward,  real  unity  of  life,  without 
which  it  could  have  no  reason  or  force.  Our  interest  in  Christ's 
merits  and  benefits  can  be  based  only  upon  a  previous  interest 
in  his  person :  so  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  we  are  made  to  partici- 
pate, not  merely  in  the  advantages  secured  by  his  mediatorial 
work,  the  rewards  of  his  obedience,  the  fruits  of  his  bitter  pas- 
sion, the  virtue  of  his  atonement,  and  the  power  of  his  priestly 
intercession,  but  also  in  his  true  and  proper  life  itself  We  par- 
take of  his  merits  and  benefits  only  so  far  as  we  partake  of  his 
substance.* 

4.  Of  course,  once  more,  the  communion  in  question  is  riot 
simply  with  Christ  in  his  divine  nature  separately  taken,  or  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  representative  of  his  presence  in  the  world. 
It  does  not  hold  in  the  influences  of  the  Spirit  merely,  enlight- 
ening the  soul  and  moving  it  to  holy  affections  and  purposes. 
It  is  by  the  Spirit  indeed  we  are  united  to  Christ.  Our  new 
life  is  comprehended  in  the  Spirit  as  its  element  and  medium. 
But  it  is  always  bound  in  this  element  to  the  person  of  the  Lord 

j  Jesus  Christ   himself     Our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father  and 
with  his  son  Jesus  Christ,  through  the  Holy  Ghost.     As  such  it 

*  Neque  enim  tantum  dico  applicari  merita,  sed  ex  ipso  Christi  corpore  ali- 
mentum  percipere  animas,  non  secus  ac  lerreno  pane  corpus  vescitur,  Calv, 
0pp.  T.  ix.,  p.  668. — Sane  non  video,  quomodo  in  cruce  Christi  redemptionem 
ac  jiistitiam,  in  ejus  morte  vitam  habere  se  quis  confidat,  nisi  vera  Cliristi  ipsius 
couimunione  imprimis  fretus.  Non  enim  ad  nos  bona  ilhi  petvenirent,  nisi  se 
prius  nostrum  Christus  faceret.  Inst.  iv.  17,  11. — Satis  sit  monuisse  lectores, 
Christum  ubique  a  me  vocari  Baptismi  Coenaque  substantiam.  0pp.  T.  ix.,  p. 
671. — Pius  centies  occurrit  in  scriptis  meis,  adeo  me  non  rejicere  substantics 
nomen,  ut  iibenter  et  ingenue  profitear  spiritualem  vitam  incomprehensibili 
Spiritus  virtute  ex  carnis  Christi  substantia  in  nos  diffundi.  Ubique  etiam 
admitto,  substantial  iter  nos  pasci  Christi  came  et  sanguine  ;  modo  facessat 
crassum  de  locali  permixtione  commentum.  lb.  p.  125,  Subslantialis  com- 
municatio  ubique  a  me  asseritur.     lb.  p.  732. 


58 


THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE, 


is  a  real  communion  with  (he  Word  made  flesh;  not  simply! 
with  the  divinity  of  Christ,  but  with  his  humanity  also;  since, 
both  are  inseparably  joined  together  in  his  person,  and  a  living 
union  with  him  in  the  one  view,  implies  necessarily  a  living 
union  with  him  in  the  other  view  likewise.  In  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, accordingly,  the  believer  communicates  not  only  with  the 
\Spirit  of  Christ,  or  with  his  divine  nature,  but  with  Christ  him- 
Belf  in  his  whole  living  person;  so  that  lie  may  be  said  to  be  fed 
and  nourished  by  his  very  flesh  and  blood.  The  communion  is 
truly  and  fully  with  the  Man  Christ  Jesus,  and  not  simply  with 
Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God.* 

These  distinctions  may  serve  to  bound  and  define  the  Re- 
formed doctrine  of  the  Eucharist  on  the  side  towards  Ratinnal- 
ism.  All  pains  were  taken  to  guard  it  from  the  false  tendency 
to  which  it  stood  exposed  in  this  direction.  The  several  con- 
ceptions of  the  believer's  union  and  communion  with  Christ 
which  have  now  been  mentioned,  were  explicitly  and  earnestly 
rejected,  as  being  too  low  and  poor  altogether  for  the  majesty  of 
this  great  mystery.  In  opposition  to  all  such  representations,  it 
was  constantly  affirmed  that  Christ's  people  are  inserted  by  faith 
into  his  very  life;  and  that  the  Lord's  Supper,  forming  as  it  does 
an  epitome  of  the  whole  mystery,  involves  to  the  worthy  com- 
municant an  actual  participation  in  the  substance  of  his  person 
under  this  view.  The  participation  is  not  simply  in  his  Spirit, 
but  in  his  flesh  also  and  blood.  It  is  not  figurative  merely  and 
moral,  but  real,  substantial  and  essential.i 

But  it  is  not  enough  to  settle  the  boundaries  of  the  doctrine 
on  the  side  of  Rationalism,  To  be  understood  properly,  it  must 
be  limited  and  defined,  in  like  manner,  on'  the  side  of  Ro- 
manism. 

\.  In  the  first  place  then  it  excludes  entirely  the  figment  of 
transuhstantiation.     According  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  the  ele- 

*  Neque  illi  practerea  mihi  satisfaciunt,  qui  nnnnullam  nobis  esse  cnm 
Christo  communioncin  agnoscentes,  cam  diiin  oslciulcrc  volunt,  nos  Spiritiis 
modo  participes  ficiunt,  prcctcrita  carnis  el  sanguinis  mcnlione.  Calvin.  Insl. 
iv.  17,  7. — Christum  corpore  absentem  doceo  nihilominus  non  tanlum  Divina 
sua  virtutc,  qua;  ubique  dilfusa  est,  nobis  adcssc,  sed  ctiam  facerc  ut  nobis 
vivifica  sit  sua  caro.  .  .  .  Ncque  simpliciter  Spii-itu  suo  Christum  in  nobis| 
habitare  trado,  sed  ita  nos  ad  se  attoUere,  ut  viviiicum  carnis  sua;  vigorem  in[ 
nos  transfundat.  0pp.  T.  ix.,  p.  GG9. — Ilanc  unitatem  non  ad  essentiani  divi- 
7iam  reslringo,  sed  pertinere  alliruio  ad  carncm  ct  sangui nem  :  quia  non  sini. 
pliciier  dictum  sit,  "  Spiritus  mcus  vere  est  cibus,*'  sed  caro  ;  ncc  simpliciter! 
etiain  dictum  sit  "  Divinitas  mea  vere  est  potus,"  sed  sanguis.  lb.  p.  7C(). 
Fatemur  ergo  corpus  idem  quod  crucifixum  est,  nos  in  Ctcnaedere.  lb.  p.  121. 
— Augustiuo  assentior,  in  pane  accipi  (]uod  pci)eudit  in  cruce.     lb.  p.  729. 

t  Convonit  ctiam  Christum  re  ipsa  ot  eflicacitcr  implore  quicquid  analorjii 
signi  et  rei  signata;  postulat ;   ideoque  vere  nobis  in  Ccnna  oilerri  comuiuiiic;i. 
tionem  cum  ejus  corpore  ct  sanguine,  vel  (qod  idem  valet,)  nobis  arrham  sub 
pane  et  vino  [)roponi,  qu;e  nos  facial  corporis  ct  sanguinis  Christi  participes. i 
Calv.  0pp.  T.  ix.,p.  743. 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORd's    SUPPER.  59 

ments  of  bread  and  wine  in  the  sacrament  are  literally  trans- 
muted into  the  actual  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ.  The  accidents, 
outward  properties,  sensible  qualities  only,  remain  the  same ; 
while  the  original  substance  is  converted  supernaturally  into  the 
true  body  of  the  glorified  Saviour,  which  is  thus  exhibited  and 
received  in  an  outward  way  in  the  sacramental  mystery.  This 
transmutation  too  is  not  limited  to  the  actual  solemnity  of  the 
sacramental  act  itself,  but  is  held  to  be  of  permanent  force;  so 
that  the  elements  continue  afterwards  to  be  the  true  body  of 
Christ,  and  are  proper  objects  of  veneration  and  worship  accord- 
ingly. This  theory  was  rejected  as»a  gross  superstition,  even  by 
the  Lutheran  Church,  and  of  course  found  still  less  favor  in  the 
other  section  of  the  Protestant  conmiunion.  The  Reformed 
doctrine  admits  no  change  whatever  in  the  elements.  Bread  re- 
mains bread,  and  wine  remains  wine. 

2.  The  doctrine  excludes,  in  the  second  place,  the  proper  Lu- 
theran hypothesis  of  the  sacrament,  technically  distinguished  by 

i-the  title  consuhstantiation.  According  to  this  view,  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  are  not  actually  substituted  supernaturally 
for  the  elements  ;  the  bread  and  wine  remain  unchanged,  in 
their  essence  as  well  as  in  their  properties.  But  still  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  are  in  their  very  substance  present,  where 
the  supper  is  administered.  The  presence  is  not  indeed  bound 
to  the  elements,  apart  from  their  sacramental  use.  It  holds  only 
in  the  moment  and  form  of  this  use  as  such;  a  mystery  in  this 
respect,  transcending  all  the  common  laws  of  reason  and  nature. 

,  It  is  however  a  true,  corporal  presence  of  the  blessed  Saviour. 

j  Hence  his  body  is  received  by  the  worshipper  orally,  though 
not  in  the  form  and  under  the  quality  of  common  food;  and  so 
not  by  believers  simply,  but  by  unbelievers  also,  to  their  own 
condemnation.  The  dogma  was  allowed  in  the  end  to  involve 
also,  by  necessary  consequence,  the  ubiquity  of  Christ's  glorified 
body.  Bread  and  wine  retain  their  own  nature,  but  Christ,  who 
is  in  virtue  of  the  comJiiunicatio  idmnatum  present  in  his  human 
nature  in  all  places  where  he  may  please  to  be,  imparts  his  true 
flesh  and  blood,  in,  ivith  and  under  the  outward  signs  to  all  com- 
municants, whether  with  or  without  faith,  by  the  inherent  power 
of  the  ordinance  itself* 

*  Credimus,  docemus  et  contitemur,  quod  in  Coena  Domini  corpus  et  sanguis 
Christi  vere  et  substantialiter  sint  prsesentia,  et  quod  una  cum  pane  et  vino 
vere  distribuantur  atque  sumantur. — Credimus,  corpus  et  sanguinem  Christi 
non  tantum  spiritualiter  per  lidem,  sed  etiam  ore,  non  tamen  Capernaitice,  sed 
supernaturali  et  ccjelesti  modo,  ratione  sacramentalis  unionis,cum  pane  etvino 
sumi. — Credimus,  quod  non  tantum  vere  in  Christum  credentes,  et  qui  digne 
ad  CcEnam  Domini  accedunt,  verum  etiam  indigni  et  infideles  verum  corpus  et 
sanguinem  Christi  sumant.  Form.  Gone,  Art.  vii.  Hase,  Lib.  Symbol,  p.  599, 
600. 


60  THE    MYSTICAL   PRESENCE. 

In  opposition  to  this  view,  the  Reformed  Church  taught  that 
the  participation  of  Christ's  flesh  and  blood  in  the  Lord's  Supper; 
is  spiritual  only,  and  in  no  sense  corporal.  The  idea  of  a  local 
presence  in  the  case,  was  utterly  rejected.  The  elements  can- 
not be  said  to  comprehend  or  include  the  body  of  the  Saviour 
in  any  sense.  It  is  not  there,  but  remains  constantly  in  heaven, 
according  to  the  scriptures.  It  is  not  handled  by  the  minister 
and  taken  into  the  mouth  of  the  communicant.  The  manduca- 
tion  of  it  is  not  oral,  but  only  by  faith.  It  is  present  in  fruition 
accordingly  to  believers  only  in  the  exercise  of  faith;  the  im- 
penitent and  unbelieving  receive  only  the  naked  symbols,  bread 
and  wine,  without  any  spiritual  advantage  to  their  own  souls.* 

Thus  we  have  the  doctrine  defined  and  circumscribed  on 
both  sides ;  with  proper  distinction  from  all  that  may  be  consi- 
dered a  tendency  to  Rationalism  in  one  direction,  and  from  all 
that  may  be  counted  a  tendency  to  Romanism  in  the  other.  It 
allows  i\iQ  presence  of  Christ's  person  in  the  sacrament,  includ- 
ing even  his  flesh  and  blood,  so  far  as  the  actual  participation  oi 
the  believer  is  concerned.  Even  the  term  real  presence,  Calvin 
tells  us  he  was  willing  to  employ,  if  it  were  to  be  understood  as 
synonymous  with  trite  presence ;  by  which  he  means  a  presence 
that  brings  Christ  truly  into  communion  with  the  believer  in  his 
human  nature,  as  well  as  in  his  divine  nature.t  The  word  real, 
however,  was  understood  ordinarily  to  denote  a  local,  corporal 
presence,  and  on  this  account  was  not  approved.  To  guard 
against  this,  it  may  be  qualified  by  the  word  spiritual;  and  the 
expression  will  then  be  quite  suitable  to  the  nature  of  the  doci 

*  Ego  Christum  in  coelesti  sua  sede  rclinquens,  arcana  spiritus  ejus  influentia 
contentus  sum,  ut  nos  carne  sua  pascat — Nequc  enim  alitcr  Christum  in  Ccena 
statuo  pra^senteni,  nisi  quia  fidelium  mentes,  sicuti  ilia  est  coelestis  actio,  fide 
supra  mundum  evehuntur,  et  Christus  Spiritus  sui  virtulc  obstaculum,  quod 
afferre  potcrat  loci  distantia,  tollens,  se  membris  suis  conjungit. — Hkc  nostra! 
dcfinitio  est,  spiritualiter  a  nobis  manducari  Christi  carnem,  quia  non  aliteti 
animas  vivificat,  quam  pane  vegctatur  corpus;  tantum  a  nobisjexcluditur  sub- 
stantias transfusio.  Westphalo  non  alitor  caro  vinifica  est,  quam  si  ejus  sub-l 
stantia  voretur.  Hoc  crimen  est  nostrum,  obviis  ulnis  tale  monstrum  non 
amplecti.     Calv.  0pp.  T.  ix.  p.  G68,  069.  j 

t  Communicari  nobis  Christi  corpus  et  sanguincm,  nullus  nostrum  negatJ 
Qualis  autem  sit  corporis  et  sanguinis  Domini  communicatio,  qu;critur.  Car-! 
nalem  isti  palam  ct  simpliciter  assererc  quoraodo  audeant,  miror.  Spiritua- 
lem  cum  dicimus,  fremuiit,  quasi  hac  voce  realem,  ut  vulgo  loquuntur,  toUa-l 
mus.  Nos  vero,  si  realc  pro  vero  accipiant,  et  fallaci  vel  imaginario  oppo-i 
nant,  barbare  loqui  mallemus,  quam  j)ugnis  matcriam  praibere.  .  .  .  Placidis 
et  moderatis  hoc  testatum  volo,  ila  secundum  noa  spiritualem  esse  communi- 
cationis  modum,  ut  reipsa  Christo  fruaniur.  Hac  modo  ratione  contenti 
simus,  ultra  quam  nemo  nisi  valde  litigiosus  insurgct,  vivificam  nobis  est 
Christi  carnem,  quia  ex  ca  sjjiritualcm  in  animas  nostras  vitam  Christus  in- 
Btillat;  cam  quoque  a  nobis  manducari,  dum  in  corpus  unum  lido  cum  Christo 
coalescinuis,  ut  noster  factus  nobiscum  sua  omnia  communicet.  Calv.  0pp.  T. 
ix.  p.  657,  65S. — Pra^sentiam  carnis  Ciirisli  in  CaMia  urget  Westphahis  :  nos 
simpliciter  non  negamus,  modo  nobiscum  iide  sursum  conscendat.   lb.  p.  66S. 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORd's    SUPPER.  61 

trine,  as  it  has  been  now  explained.  A  real  presence,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  notion  that  Christ's  Hesh  and  blood  are  not  made 
present  to  the  communicant  in  ani/  way.  A  spiritual  real  pre- 
sence, in  opposition  to  the  idea  that  Christ's  body  is  in  the  ele- 
ments in  a  local  or  corporal  manner.  Not  real  simply,  and  not 
spiritual  simply;  but  real,  and  yet  spiritual  at  the  same  time. 
The  body  of  Christ  is  in  heaven,  the  believer  on  earth;  but  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  nevertheless,  the  obstacle  of  such 
vast  local  distance  is  fully  overcome,  so  that  in  the  sacramental 
act,  while  the  outward  symbols  are  received  in  an  outward  way, 
the  very  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  at  the  same  time  inwardly 
and  supernaturally  communicated  to  the  worthy  receiver,  for  the 
real  nourishment  of  his  new  life.  Not  that  the  material  particles 
of  Christ's  body  are  supposed  to  be  carried  over,  by  this  super- 
natural process,  into  the  believer's  person.*  The  communion 
is  spiritual,  not  material.  It  is  a  participation  of  the  Saviour's 
life.  Of  his  life,  however,  as  human,  subsisting  in  a  true  bodily 
form.  The  living  energy,  the  vivific  virtue,  as  Calvin  styles  it, 
of  Christ's  flesh,  is  made  to  flow  over  into  the  communicant, 
making  him  more  and  more  one  with  Christ  himself,  and  thus 
more  and  more  an  heir  of  the  same  immortality  that  is  brought 
to  light  in  his  person. 

Two  points  in  particular,  in  the  theory  now  exhibited,  require 
to  be  held  clearly  in  view. 

The  first  is,  that  the  sacrament  is  made  to  carry  with  it  an  oh- 
jrcfive  force,  so  far  as  its  principal  design  is  concerned.  It  is  not 
simply  suggestive,  commemorative,  or  representational.  It  is  not 
a  sign,  a  picture,  deriving  its  significance  from  the  mind  of  the 
beholder.  The  virtue  which  it  possesses  is  not  put  into  it  by 
the  faith  of  the  worshipper  in  the  first  place,  to  be  taken  out  of 
it  again  by  the  same  faith,  in  the  same  form.  It  is  not  imagined 
of  course  in  the  case  that  the  ordinance  can  have  any  virtue 
without  faith,  that  it  can  confer  grace  in  a  purely  mechanical 
way.  All  thought  of  the  opus  operatum,  in  this  sense,  is  utterly 
repudiated.  Still  faith  does  not  properly  clothe  the  sacrament 
with  its  power.  It  is  the  condition  of  its  efficacy  for  the  com- 
municant, but  not  the  principle  of  the  power  itself.  This  be- 
longs to  the  institution  in  its  own  nature.  The  signs  are  bound 
to  what  they  represent,  not  subjectively  simply  in  the  thought  of 
the  worshipper,  but  objectively,  by  the  force  of  a  divine  appoint- 
ment.    The  union  indeed  is  not  natural  but  sacramental.     The 

*  Ingenue  interea  confitcor,  mixtxiram  carnis  Christi  cum  anima  nostra,  vel 
trnnsfusioncm,  qualis  ab  ipsis  docelur,  inc  rcpudiare  ;  quia  nobis  sufficit, 
Christum  e  carnis  sua?  substantia  vitam  in  animas  nostras  spirare,  imo  pro- 
priam  in  nos  vitam  ditFundere,  quamvis  in  nos  non  ingrediatur  ipsa  Christi 
caro.  Calv.  Inst.  iv.  17,  32. — Manet  tamen  integer  homo  Christus  in  coelo. 
Id.  0pp.  T.  ix.,  p.  699. 

6 


02  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE, 

grace  is  not  comprehended  m  the  elements,  as  its  depository  and 
vehicle  outwardly  considered.  But  the  union  is  none  the  less 
real  and  firm,  on  this  account.  The  grace  goes  inseparably  along 
with  the  signs,  and  is  truly  present  for  all  who  are  prepared  to 
make  it  their  own.  The  siorns  in  this  view  are  also  seeds;  not 
simply  as  they  attest  the  truth  and  reality  of  the  grace  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  but  as  ihey  authenticate  also  its  presence  under  the 
sacramental  exhibition  itself  This  is  what  we  mean  by  the 
objective  force  of  the  institution  ;  and  this,  we  say,  is  one  point 
that  must  always  be  kept  in  view,  in  looking  at  the  doctrine  that 
is  now  the  subject  of  our  attention.* 

The  other  point  to  be  steadily  kept  in  sight  is,  that  the  invisi- 
ble grace  of  the  sacrament,  according  to  the  doctrine,  is  the  sub- 
stantial life  of  the  Saviour  himself,  particularly  in  his  human 
nature.  He  became  flesh  for  the  life  of  the  world,  and  our  com- 
munion with  him,  involves  a  real  participation  in  him  as  the 
princijjle  of  life  under  this  form.  Hence  in  the  mystery  of  the 
Supper,  his  flesh  and  blood  are  really  exhibited  always  in  their- 
essential  force  and  power,  and  really  received  by  every  worthy 
communicant. 

Such  is  the  proper  sacramental  doctrine  of  the  Reformed 
Church  as  it  stood  in  the  Sixteentli  century.  It  is  easy  to  show 
that  it  labours  under  serious  difliculties.  With  these  however  at 
present,  we  have  no  concern.  They  can  have  no  bearing  one 
way  or  another,  upon  the  simply  historical  inquiry  in  which  we 
are  now  engaged.  My  object  has  been  thus  far  only  to  describe 
and  define  the  doctrine  itself  It  remains  now  to  sho"\v,  that  it 
was  in  fact,  as  thus  described  and  defined,  the  accredited  estab- 
lished doctrine  of  the  Reformed  Church,  in  the  period  to  which 
the  inquiry  refers. 

*  Obtcndit  (Westphalus)  verho  fieri  sacramentum,  non  fide  nostra.  Hoc  nt 
concedam,  nondiiin  tamen  ohtincl  promiscue  Christum  cauihus  et  j)orcis  ita 
prostiliii,  ut  canio  ejus  vescantur.  Neijue  eiiim  dcsinit  p  cilIo  plucre  Dous, 
hcct  pluviai  li(juorerii  saxa  <  t  rupes  non  concipiant.  Valv.  0pp.  T.  \x.,p.  674. 
— Nos  ita  asscrimus,  omnibus  ollcrri  in  sacraincntoCliristi  corpus  ct  sanguinem, 
ut  soli  fidelcs  inx'sliuiabili  hoc  thesauro  iVuantui  :  ctsi  antnn  incrcdulitas 
januam  Christo  claudit,  ut  privenlur  ejus  boneficio  qui  ad  ("o  nam  impure  acce- 
dunt,  negamus  tamen  (piicciuain  deccdore  ex  sacramcnti  natura;  ([uia  panis 
semper  veruni  est  pignus  carnis  Cliristi,  et  vinum  sanguinis,  veratjuc  utriusciue 
exhibitio  semper  constat  ex  parte  Dei.  Ailversarii  nostri  corpus  et  sanguinem 
ita  sub  pane,  et  vino  includunt,  iil  sine  ulla  tide  vorentur  ab  imi»iis.  lb.  p.  699. 


CALVINISTIiJ    DOCTRINi:    OF    THE    LORD's    SUITEU.  G3 


SECTION  IL 


IlISTOKICAL    EVIDENCE. 


Tlie  Reformed  Church,  as  distinguished  from  the  Lutheran, 
cannot  be  said  to  have  taken  its  rise  in  the  person  of  any  single 
man,  or  in  the  religious  life  of  any  particular  country,  separately 
considered.  The  great  Protestant  movement  revealed  itself  from 
the  beginning,  under  this  general  form,  in  difterent  countries, 
independently  of  all  merely  outward  historical  connection.  At 
the  same  time,  the  characteristic  differences  of  doctrine  between 
the  two  confessions  were  not  clearly  and  fully  developed  from 
the  start,  on  either  side.  The  difference  was  felt,  and  in  a  cer- 
tain way  also  expressed.  But  time  was  needed  to  carry  it  out  to 
its  last,  satisfactory,  logical  statement,  for  the  understanding. 
Thus  the  Lutheran  system,  after  years  of  controversy,  appears 
fairly  developed,  under  all  its  true  and  necessary  distinctions, 
only  in  the  Form  of  Concord,  framed  towards  the  close  of  the 
century.  And  thus  also  in  the  same  way,  the  sacramental  dogma 
of  the  Reformed  Church  can  be  understood  fairly,  not  from  the 
form  in  which  it  may  be  found  exhibited  at  the  outset  of  the  con- 
troversy, but  only  from  the  terms  in  which  we  find  it  stated  at  a 
later  period,  after  its  true  substance  and  contents  had  come  to 
be  properly  apprehended  and  defined  at  every  point,  with  proper 
antithesis  to  all  the  errors  with  which  it  was  felt  to  be  sur- 
rounded. 

It  is  not  necessary  then  that  we  should  trouble  ourselves 
much,  in  the  present  inquiry,  about  the  opinions  of  Zuingli,  or 
Occolamjjadius,  or  of  the  Swiss  Reformed  Church  generally  in 
their  day  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  Reformed 
Church,  as  a  whole,  is  not  historically  derived  from  Switzerland, 
in  any  such  sense  that  it  could  ever  be  said  to  be  bound  legiti- 
mately in  its  faith  by  the  theological  views  of  that  country,  in  the 
precise  form  in  which  they  were  held  and  published  at  the  birth 
of  the  Reformation.  Much  less  may  it  be  imagined  that  any 
such  obligation  has  existed,  as  it  regards  the  authority  of  the 
great  Reformer  of  Zurich  in  a  separate  view.  With  all  his 
merits,  entitling  him  as  they  do  to  the  respect  of  the  Protes- 
tant world  through  all  ages,  the  relation  of  Zuingli  to  the 
proper  life  of  the  Reformed  Church,  must  be  allowed  to  have 
been  exceedingly  external  and  accidental.  This  appears  in  the 
fact,  that  he  has  left  behind  him  no  work,  which  has  ever  been 


64  THE    MYSTICAL    FllESENCK. 

held  to  be  of  symbolical  force  for  any  portion  of  the  Churcli. 
In  such  circumstances,  we  are  not  at  liberty  of  course  to  appeal 
to  his  authority,  if  it  had  been  ever  so  clearly  expressed,  in  the 
case  before  us,  as  carrying  with  it  any  decisive  weight.*  And 
just  as  little  can  we  consider  any  judgment  conclusive,  which  it 
may  be  attemj)ted  to  derive  from  the  Helvetic  Church  generally, 
in  the  first  years  of  its  history.  Its  views,  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  were  more  or  less,  chaotic  and  contradictory.  Theological 
investigation,  and  much  exercise  in  the  way  of  controversy, 
were  still  required  to  give  them  proper  shape  and  form.  This 
work  was  accomplished  gradually  with  the  onward  course  of 
history,  and  became  complete  especially,  about  the  middle  of  the 
century,  through  tlie  instrumentality  of  that  vast  mind,  which  for 
years  served  the  whole  Reformed  Church  as  its  central  organ,  in 
the  city  of  Geneva. 

To  learn  tlie  true  character,  then,  of  the  eucharistic  doctrine 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  sixteenth  century,  we  must  have 
recourse  to  tlie  time  when  the  doctrine  had  become  properly 
delined  and  settled  in  the  Churcli  itself.  The  representations 
of  this  period  are  not  to  be  ruled  and  interpreted  by  statements 
drawn  from  an  earlier  day,  but  on  the  contrary,  these  earlier 

*  The  view  of  Zuingli,  with  regard  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  is  not  always 
consistent  with  itself.  At  times,  he  appears  to  take  tlic  proper  ground,  as 
afterwards  more  clearly  established  in  the  Reformed  Church  ;  and  it  may  well 
be  doubted  whether  he  could  have  been  deliberately  satisfied  at  all  with  the 
poor,  bald  conception,  which  is  too  often  made  to  pass  under  the  authority  of 
his  name  at  the  present  time.  Still  it  must  be  confessed,  that  his  theory  of 
the  sacraments,  altogether,  was  quite  too  low^,  as  compared  with  the  doctrine 
of  Calvin  for  instance,  or  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  ;  and  in  some  cases  he 
allows  himself  to  speak  of  them  in  a  way  that  sounds  jjerfeclly  rationalistic. 
He  tells  us  indeed  :  "  Verum  Christi  corpus  credimus  in  C(i?na  sacramentalitcr 
ct  spiritualiter  edi,  a  religiosa,  hdeli  et  sancta  mcnte  ;"  but  in  the  same  con- 
nection resolves  all  into  the  most  common  moral  influence,  f'or  the  sacra- 
ments have  their  value  and  efficacy,  he  says,  in  this  ;  that  they  arc  venerable 
institutions  of  Christ — that  they  arc  testimony  to  great  ficts — that  they  arc 
made  to  stand  for  the  things  they  represent  and  to  bear  their  names — that  these 
things  are  of  vast  worth,  and  reflect  their  ov/n  value  on  their  signs,  as  a  queen's 
wedding-ring,  for  instance,  is  more  than  ail  her  other  rings,  however  precious 
besides — that  there  is  an  analogy  or  resemblance  between  the  signs  and  the 
things  they  signify — that  they  serve  as  sensible  helps  to  our  faith — and  that  they 
have,  finally,  the  force  of  an  oath.  See  his  Clara  Expos.  Fidei,  addressed  to 
the  King  of  France  shortly  before  his  death,  and  published  afterwards  in  the 
year  1536  :  quoted  by  Hospinian,  ii.,  p.  239-241.  "  Credo,  omnia  sacramenta 
tarn  abesse,  ut  gratiam  conferant,  ut  ne  offer  ant  quidcm  aul  dispensenf."  Ad. 
Car.  Imp.  Fidei  Ratio.  ♦'  Sunt  sacramenta  signa  vel  cercmioniic — quibus  se 
homo  ecclesia  prohat  aut  candidatum  aut  militem  esse  Christi,  rcdduntque 
ecclesiam  totam  pc)tiiis  certiorein  de  tua  fide,  quam  to."  Be  Vera  et  Falsa  liel. 
This  is  low  enough,  certainly,  and  in  full  contradiction  to  the  true  Reformed 
doctrine.  Calvin  went  so  far  as  to  call  \i  profane.  Sec  quotation  from  a  letter 
to  Viret,  in  Henry's  Leben  J.  Calvin's,  vol.  !.,  p.  271  :  Nunquam  ejus  (Zuin- 
glii)  omnia  legi.  Fortaspis  sub  linem  vit;r,  retraclavit  et  torrcxil!  (pi;r.  pii- 
mum  invito  exciderant.  Sod  in  scriptis  prioribus  meinini,  quam  prof  una  sit 
ejus  de  sacranientis  sentcntia. 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LOUD's    SUPPER.  65 

Statements,  springing  as  they  do  from  a  comparatively  rudimental 
state  of  Protestant  theology,  must  be  of  right  interpreted  and 
ruled  by  the  form  in  which  the  doctrine  is  made  to  appear  after- 
wards, when  the  same  theology  had  become  more  complete. 
This  later  form  of  the  doctrine  moreover,  as  developed  and  en- 
forced especially  by  Calvin,  is  the  same  which  it  is  found  to 
carry  in  the  symbolical  books  of  the  Church  generally,  and  in 
this  view  again  must  be  regarded  of  course  as  of  paramount  and 
exclusive  authority  in  the  present  inquiry. 

In  what  is  now  said,  however,  it  is  not  intended  to  allow  that 
the  doctrine  of  the  Reformed  Church  on  the  subject  of  the  sacra- 
ment was  essentially  different  at  the  start  from  what  it  came  to 
be  afterwards.  The  doctrine  we  suppose  to  have  been  substan- 
tially ihe  same,  in  the  consciousness  of  the  Church,  from  the 
beginning.  Calvin  did  not  bring  in  a  new  faith  at  this  point,  to 
supplant  that  which  had  previously  prevailed.  He  simply  con- 
tributed to  the  right  understanding,  and  full  enunciation  of  the 
faith  which  was  already  at  hand.  It  may  be  admitted  that  this 
had  been  held  with  some  measure  of  confusion.  It  is  difficult 
to  say  what  Zuingli  believed.  Probably  his  view  was  by  no 
means  clear  and  fixed  to  his  own  mind.  Uncertainty  and  con- 
tradiction too  appear  in  the  Helvetic  creed,  to  some  extent,  after 
his  death.  But  it  is  still  sufficiently  plain,  that  the  creed  itself 
was  felt  to  include  something  more  than  the  conception  of  a 
merely  symbolical  force  in  the  sacrament.  We  see  in  it  always 
an  internal  demand  at  least  for  a  higher  form  of  expression,  such 
as  the  doctrine  was  brought  subsequently  to  assume,  through  the 
influence  mainly  of  Calvin. 

Harhj  Helvetic  Church. 

Thus  with  all  their  opposition  to  Luther's  idea  of  a  bodily 
presence,  the  old  Helvetic  divines  teach  clearly  tliat  the  sacra- 
ments carry  with  them  an  objective  force.  Tlie  signs  are  held 
to  exhibit  in  fact  what  they  represent.  And  this,  in  the  case  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  is  such  a  participation  on  the  part  of  the 
soul  in  Christ,  as  involves  a  real  connection  with  the  power  of 
his  whole  life,  by  which  believers  may  be  said  to  be  nourished 
with  his  very  body  and  blood.  A  view  altogether,  which  is 
much  higher  certainly  than  that  commonly  entertained  in  our 
own  time,  by  those  who  pretend  to  agree  here  with  the  faith  of 
the  original  Swiss  Church. 

In  illustration  and  proof  of  what  is  now  said,  I  may  refer  even 
to  what  is  styled  the  First  Confession  of  Basel;  published  Janu- 
ary, 1534,  in  compliance  with  Bucer's  request;  to  show  the 
world  that  the  Swiss  were  not  fairly  liable  to  tlxe  reproach  of 

6^ 


66  TllK    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

**  having  the  Supper  without  Christ."  It  is  suj)poscd  to  have 
been  tlie  production  originally  of  Occolampadius,  revised  and 
improved  by  his  successor  Osivahl  Mjjcomus.  On  the  subject 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  Art.  VI.  [Hospinicw,  Hist.  Sacram.  l*urs 
Altera,  p.  221,)  it  uses  the  following  language: 

"  In  the  Lord's  Supper,  (in  which  with  the  bread  and  wine  of  the 
Lord  are  represented  and  offered  to  us  by  the  minister  of  the  church  the 
true  body  and  blood  of  Christ,)  bread  and  wine  remain  unchanged. 
We  firmly  believe,  however,  that  Christ  himself  [ipsummet  Chris- 
tum] is  the  food  of  believing  souls  unto  eternal  life ;  and  that  our 
souls,  by  true  faith  upon  Christ  crucified,  are  made  to  eat  and  drink 
the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ;  so  that  we,  members  of  his  body  as  of 
our  only  head,  live  in  him,  as  he  also  lives  in  us ;  whereby  we  shall 
at  the  last  day,  by  him  and  in  him,  rise  to  everlasting  joy  and  bless- 
edness." 

The  strength  of  this  language,  it  must  be  added,  is  in  some 
measure  reduced  by  two  or  three  brief  qualifying  explanations 
thrown  into  the  margin  ;  by  which  we  are  reminded  that  it  is 
the  soul  only  that  is  thus  fed  and  nourished,  in  a  spiritval  way, 
by  the  apprehension  of  Christ,  and  that  the  true,  natural  and 
substantial  body  of  the  Saviour  is  in  no  sense  included  in  the 
ordinance.  The  whole  representation  too  is  considerably  am- 
biguous, as  compared  with  the  statements  of  a  later  time.  But 
still  it  shows  the  sense  of  something  deeper  in  the  doctrine,  than 
could  well  be  made  intelligible  by  words.  The  elements  are 
more  than  signs  simply  and  outward  pledges.  They  ofcr  what 
they  signify  ;  and  this  is,  in  some  way,  a  real  communication 
with  the  human  Christ. 

More  distinct  and  full,  in  this  view,  in  some  respects,  is  the 
Second  Confession  of  Basel,  more  commonly  known  as  the  First 
Helvetic.  It  was  framed  by  BuUinffcr,  J/j/co/zms,  and  Grynaeus, 
A.  D.  1536,  under  the  appointment  of  an  ecclesiastical  conven- 
tion, which  had  assembled  in  the  name  of  the  different  Protestant 
cantons  at  Basel  for  this  purpose;  by  whose  authority  also  it  was 
afterwards  ratified  and  made  public.  On  the  subject  of  the  sacra- 
ments, it  speaks  thus : 

"The  signs  called  sacraments  are  two,  namely  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  These  sacraments  are  expressive  holy  si^ns  of  high 
secret  things  ;  not  however  naked  and  empty  signs ;  but  tliey  consist 
of  signs  and  real  things.  For  in  baptism  the  water  is  the  sign,  but 
the  thin^  itself  is  regeneration  and  adoption  into  the  family  of  God. 
In  the  Lord's  Supper  or  eucharist  the  bread  and  wine  are  the  signs, 
but  the  spiritual  realities  are  the  communion  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  the  salvation  procured  on  the  cross  and  the  forgiveness  of  sins. 
These  real  spiritual  things  are  received  by  faith,  as  the  signs  are  in  a 
bodily  way."     .irl.  20. 


^  CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORD's    SUPPER.  67 

Here  we  are  taught  expressly,  that  the  sacraments  are  not 
simjDJy  signs,  nor  yet  pledges  merely,  of  a  grace  in  no  way  bound 
to  their  particular  constitution.  But  they  consist  of  real  things 
as  well  as  signs.  There  is  an  actual  exhibition  of  these  real  things 
in  the  ordinances  themselves.  They  are  there  independently  of 
all  thought  or  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  worshipper ;  although,  of 
course,  they  can  become  his  only  by  faith.  Thus  baptism  is  de- 
scribed, in  the  next  article,  as  the  "  laver  of  regeneration,  which 
the  Lord  extends,  by  a  visible  sign,  to  his  elect,  through  the  min- 
istry of  the  church."  And  then  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  it  is  said 
again :  . 

"  Concerning  the  mystical  Supper  we  thus  judge,  that  the  Lord  in 
it  truly  offers  to  his  people  his  own  body  and  blood,  that  is  him- 
self, to  the  end  that  he  may  live  more  and  more  in  them,  and  they  in 
him.  Not  that  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord  are  naturally  united 
with  the  bread  and  wine,  or  locally  included  in  them,  or  are  made  car- 
nally present  in  any  way ;  but  that  the  bread  and  w^ine  are,  by  divine 
appointment,  symbols  under  which,  by  the  Lord  himself,  through  the 
ministry  of  tjje  church,  the  true  communication  of  his  body  and  blood  is 
exhibited,  not  as  perishable  food  for  the  belly,  but  as  the  aliment  of 
eternal  life."     Art.  23.     {Niemeyer's  Col.  Cunf.  p.  112.) 

This  Confession  was  afterwards  submitted  to  the  examination 
of  Luther,  by  Bucer  and  Capito,  on  the  occasion  of  the  meeting 
held  at  Wittemberg  the  same  year,  through  the  agency  of  the 
Strasburg  divines,  for  the  purpose  of  effecting,  if  possible,  a  re- 
conciliation between  the  two  confessions;  the  result  of  which 
was  the  celebrated  Wittemberg  Concord.  Strange  to  tell,  Luther 
pronounced  the  Confession  orthodox ;  although  it  contradicts 
palpably  his  own  system,  and  falls  short  even  of  the  full  force  of 
the  Reformed  doctrine,  as  afterwards  more  clearly  and  success- 
fully stated. 

Calvin. 

To  gain  a  full  view  of  the  doctrine,  as  already  intimated,  we 
must  have  recourse  especially  to  Calvin.  No  authority  in  the 
case  can  be  entitled  to  greater  respect.  He  was  emphatically 
the  great  theologian  of  his  age.  On  this  point,  moreover,  he  is 
clearly  the  organ  and  interpreter  of  the  mind  of  the  church,  in 
whose  bosom  he  stood.  It  will  not  do  to  speak  of  his  view  of 
the  Lord's  supper  as  the  private  fancy  only  of  a  single  man.  If 
there  be  any  point  clear  in  the  history  of  the  time,  it  is  that  the 
doctrine  exhibited  by  Calvin  on  this  subject  is  to  be  regarded  as 
the  same,  in  all  substantial  points,  that  was  recognized  in  the 
end  as  of  general  symbolical  authority,  throughout  the  whole 
^Reformed  Church,  in  the  sixteenth  century. 


OO-  THE    MYSTICAL    TRESENCE. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  bring  forward  quotations  in  detail,  for 
the  pur})ose  of  showing  the  true  character  of  the  view  he  held, 
or  its  correspondence  with  the  doctrine  which  has  been  already 
described,  as  tiie  true  and  proper  doctrine  of  the  Reformed  Church 
in  the  beginning  of  its  history.  That  description  has  been  in  fact 
taken  mainly  from  Calvin  himself,  and  is  supported  accordingly  by 
references  to  his  writings  at  every  point  already.  The  difficulty 
here  is,  not  to  find  proofs  and  illustrations,  but  to  make  choice 
among  the  multitude  that  are  presented.  Calvin, has  written 
much  on  the  Lord's  Supper;  and  he  is  always  clear,  always  con- 
sistent, always  true  to  himself  Over  and  over  again,  in  all  forms 
of  expression  and  explanation,  he  tells  us,  that  Christ's  body  is 
indeed  locally  in  heaven  only,  and  in  no  sense  included  in  the 
elements;  that  he  can  be  apprehended  by  faith  only,  and  not  at 
all  by  the  hands  or  lips;  that  nothing  is  to  be  imagined  like  a 
transfusion  or  intromission  of  the  particles  of  his  body,  mate- 
rially considered,  into  our  persons.  And  yet  that  'our  comnm- 
nion  with  him,  notwithstanding,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  involves  a  real  participation — not  in  his  doctfine  merely 
— not  in  his  promises  inerely — not  in  the  sensible  manifestations 
of  his  love  merely — not  in  his  righteousness  and  merit  merely — 
not  in  the  gifts  and  endowments  of  his  Si)irit  merely  ;  but  in  his 
own  true  substantial  life  itself;  and  this  not  as  comprehended  in 
his  divine  nature  merely,  but  most  immediately  and  peculiarly  as  I 
embodied  in  his  humanity  itself,  for  us  men  and  our  salvation. 
The  Word  became  flesh,  according  to  this  view,  for  the  purpose 
not  simply  of  effecting  a  salvation  that  might  become  available: 
for  men  in  an  outward  way,  but  to  open  a  fountain  of  life  in  our 
nature  itself,  that  might  thenceforward  continue  to  flow  over  to 
other  men,  as  a  vivific  stream,  to  the  end  of  time.  The  flesh  of 
Christ,  then,  or  his  humanity,  forms  the  medium,  and  the  onlyi 
medium,  by  which  it  is  possible  for  us  to  be  inserted  into  his  life. 
To  have  part  in  him  at  all,  we  must  be  joined  to  him  in  the  flesh  ;  i 
and  this  not  by  the  bond  of  our  common  relationship  to  Adam, 
but  by  the  force  of  a  direct  implantation  through  the  Spirit,  into 
the  person  of  Christ  himself. 

"  That  Christ  is  the  bread  of  life,"  he  says  in  his  Institutes  IV.  17,  •>, 
"  by  which  believers  are  nourished  to  eternal  salvation,  then;  is  no  man, 
not  entirely  destitute  of  religion,  who  hesitates  to  acknowledge;  though 
all  are  not  equally  agreed  respecting  the  manner  of  partaking  of  him. 
For  there  are  some  who  define  in  a  word,  that  to  eat  the  flesh  of  Christ 
and  to  drink  his  blood,  is  no  other  than  to  believe  in  Christ  himself. 
But  I  conc(iive  that  in  tiiat  remarkable  discourse  in  which  Christ  re- 
connnends  us  to  feed  upon  his  body,  he  intended  to  teach  us  some- 
thing more  striking  and  sublime;  namely  that  we  are  quickened  by  a 
real  participation  of  liiu),  which  he  designates  by  the  terms  of  eating 
and  driti/fuig,  that  no  })cTson  might  suppose  the  life  which  we  receive 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORD's    SUIPER.  09 

from  him  to  consist  in  simple  knowledge.  For  as  it  is  not  scein<^ 
bread,  but  eatinir  it,  that  administers  nourishment  to  the  body,  so  it  is 
necessary  for  the  soul  to  have  a  true  and  complete  participation  of 
Christ,  that  by  his  power  it  may  be  quickened  into  spiritual  life.  At 
the  same  time,  we  confess  that  there  is  no  other  eating'  than  by  faith, 
as  it  is  impossible  to  imag^ine  any  other;  but  the  difference  between 
me  and  those  whose  opinion  I  now  oppose  is  this.  They  consider 
eating  to  be  the  same  thing-  as  believing;  while  I  say,  that  in  believ- 
ing we  eat  the  flesh  of  Christ,  because  he  is  made  ours  actually  by 
faith,  and  that  this  eating  is  the  fruit  and  effect  of  faith.  Or  to  ex- 
press it  more  plainly,  they  consider  the  eating  to  be  faith  itself;  but 
I  apprehend  it  to  be  rather  a  consequence  of  faith." 

Again,  (IV.  17.  8,)  he  tells  us  that  Christ  was  from  the  beginning 
that  life  giving  Word  of  the  Father,  from  which  all  things  have  de- 
rived their  existence.  "  In  him  was  life,"  the  source  and  fountain  of 
all  creaturely  existence,  even  before  'he  appeared  in  our  nature.  But 
this  "  life  was  manifested,"  when  he  assumed  our  flesh,  to  restore  the 
ruin  produced  by  the  fall.  "  For  though  he  diffused  his  influence 
over  the  whole  creation  before  that  period,  yet  because  man  was 
alienated  from  God  by  sin,  had  lost  the  participation  of  life,  and  saw 
on  every  side  nothing  but  impending  death,  it  was  necessary  to  his 
recovery  of  any  hope  of  immortality,  that  he  should  be  received  into 
the  communion  of  that  Word.  For  what  confidence  can  it  raise  in 
any  one,  to  hear  only  that  the  fulness  of  life  is  comprehended  in  the 
Word  of  God,  a  great  way  off,  whilst  in  himself  and  all  around 
nothing  but  death  is  presented  to  his  eyes  !  Now,  however,  since 
that  fountain  of  life  has  come  to  dwell  in  our  flesh,  it  is  no  longer 
thus  hidden  from  us  by  distance,  but  open  to  our  reach  and  free  use. 
The  very  flesh  moreover  in  which  he  dwells  is  made  to  be  vivific  for 
us,  that  we  may  be  nourished  by  it  to  immortality.  '  I  am  the  living 
bread,'  he  says,  'which  came  down  from  heaven  ;  and  the  bread  that 
I  will  give  is  my  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world.' 
(John  6  :  48,  51.)  In  these  words  he  teaches,  not  simply  that  he  is 
Life,  as  the  everlasting  Word  descending  to  us  from  heaven,  but  that 
in  thus  descending  he  has  infused  this  virtue  also  into  the  flesh  with 
which  he  clothed  iiimself,  in  order  that  life  might  flow  over  to  us  from 
it  continually." 

Again,  sect.  10  :  "  We  conclude  that  our  souls  are  fed  by  the  flesh 
and  blood  of  Christ,  just  as  our  corporeal  life  is  preserved  and  sus»- 
tained  by  bread  and  wine.  For  the  analogy  of  the  sign  would  not 
hold,  if  our  souls  did  not  find  their  aliment  in  Christ;  which  however 
cannot  be  the  case,  unless  Christ  truly  coalesce  into  one  with  us,  and 
support  us  through  the  use  of  his  flesh  and  blood.  It  may  seem  in- 
credible indeed  that  the  flesh  of  Christ  should  reach  us  from  such 
immense  local  distance,  so  as  to  become  our  food.  But  we  must  re- 
member how  far  the  secret  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  transcends  all 
our  senses,  and  what  folly  it  must  ever  be  to  think  cf  reducing  his 
immensity  to  our  measure.  Let  faith  embrace  then  what  the  under- 
standing cannot  grasp,  namely  that  the  Spirit  unites  things  which  are 
locally  separated.  Now  this  sacred  communication  of  his  flesh  and 
blood,  by  which  Christ  transfuses  his  life  into  us,  just  as  if  he  pene- 
trated our  bones  and  marrow,  he  testifies  and  seals  also  in  the  holy 


70  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

Slipper;  not  by  the  exliibition  of  a  vain  and  empty  si;^n,  but  by  putting 
forth  there  such  an  energy  of  his  Spirit  as  fulfils  what  he  promises. 
What  is  thus  attested  he  olfcrs  and  exhibits  to  all  who  approach  the  j 
spiritual  banquet.    It  is  however  fruitfully  received  by  believers  only,  \ 
who  accept  such  vast  grace  witii  inward  gratitude  and  trust." 

The  following  passage,  sect.  11,  is  entitled  to  particular  atten- 
tion, as  bringing  strongly  into  view  some  of  the  leading  points  i 
of  the  doctrine,  in  a  way  not  to  be  misunderstood  or  contradicted,  j 

"  I  say  then,  (what  has  always  been  held   in  the  church,  and  is  ) 
still  taught  by  all  of  sound  feeling,)  that  the  sacred  mystery  of  the;| 
Supper  consists  of  two  parts;  the  corporeal  s/i,'-?7s,  which  being  placea  | 
before  our  eyes  represent  to  us  invisible  things  according  to  the  in-  i 
firmity  of  our  apprehension;  and  the  spiritual  truth, which  these  sym-.i 
hols  typify  and  exhibit.     This  last  I  am  accustomed  to  describe  in  a  j 
familiar  way,  as  including  three  things  ;   the  signification,  the  matter  \ 
answering  to  this,  and  the  virtue  or  effect  which  follow^s  from  both,  j 
The  sig7i>/ication  holds  in  the  promises,  which  are  in  some  sense  inter-  i 
woven  with  the  sign.     What  I  call  the  mattter  or  substance,  is  Christ,  ' 
with  his  death  and  resurrection.     By  the  effict  I  mean  redemption,  j 
righteousness,  sanctification,  ctL-rnal   life,  and  all  the  other  benefits  i 
which  Christ  confers  upon  us.^  Moreover,  though  all   these  things  || 
have  a  relation  to  faith,  I  allow  ilo  room  for  the  cavil,  that,  in  repre-  ij 
senting  Christ  to  be  received  by  failrh,  I  make  him  an  object  simply  ^ 
of  the  understanding  or  imagination.     For  the  promises  present  him  [ 
to  us,  not  that  we  may  rest  in  contemplation  merely  and  naked 
notion,  but  that  we  may  enjoy  him  in  the  way  of  real  participation,  j 
And  truly,  I  see  not  how  any  one  can  have  confidence,  that  he  has  j 
redemption  and  righteousness  by  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  life  by  his  1 
death,  if  he  have  not  in  the  iirst  place  a  true  communion  with  Christ 
himself.     For  those  benefits  could  never  reach  us  if  Christ  did  not 
first  make  himself  ours.     I  say,  then,  that  in  the  mystery  of  the  Sup- 
per, under  the  symbols  of  bread  and  wine,  Christ  is  truly  presented 
to  us,  and  so  his  body  and  blood,  in  which  he  fulfilled  all  obedience 
to  procure  our  justification  ;  in  order  that  we  may, first  coalesce  with 
hiin  into  one  body,  and  then,  being  thus  made  partakers  of  his  sub- 
stance, may  experience  the  virtue  also  which  belongs  to  him,  in  the 
participation  of  all  blessings." 

The  Catcch{s}ti  of  Geneva  was  formed  by  Calvin  in  the  year 
1536,  (enlarged  and  improved  in  1541,)  for  the  use  of  the 
Church  whose  name  it  bears.  Take  from  it  the  following  ex- 
tract on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper: 

Quest.  Why  is  the  Lord's  body  figured  by  bread  and  his  blood  by 
wine  ? 

Jlns.  To  teach  us,  that  such  virtue  as  bread  has  in  nourishing  our 
bodies  for  the  support  of  the  present  life,  the  same  is  in  the  body  of 
the  Lord  for  the  spiritual  nourishment  of  our  souls  ;  and  that  as  by 
wine  the  hearts  of  men  are  exhilarated,  their  strength  refreshed,  the 
whole  man  invigorated,  so  our  souls  receive  like  benefits  from  the 
Lord's  blood. 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORD's    SUrpER.  71 

Q.  Do  we  then  eat  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord  ? 

Jf.  We  do.  For  since  the  whole  hope  of  our  salvation  consists  in 
this,  that  his  obedience,  which  he  rendered  to  the  Father,  may  be 
])laced  to  our  credit  as  though  it  were  our  own,  it  is  necessary  that  he 
himself  should  be  possessed  by  us.  He  does  not  communicate  his 
benefits  to  us  except  as  he  makes  himself  ours. 

Q.  But  did  he  not  give  himself  to  be  ours  at  that  time,  when  he  ex- 
posed himself  to  death,  that  he  might  reconcile  us,  being  redeemed 
from  the  sentence  of  death,  to  the  Father  1 

^.  That  is  true.  But  it  is  not  enough  for  us  unless  we  receive  him 
now,  in  order  that  the  efficacy  and  fruit  of  his  death  may  reach  us. 

Q.  Is  not  the  mode  of  receiving  him,  however,  by  faith  ] 
'  JI.  This  I  allow  ;  but  add  at  the  same  time,  that  this  takes  place, 
not  only  as  we  believe  that  he  died  to  redeem  us  from  death,  and  rose 
again  to  acquire  life  for  us,  but  as  we  acknowledge  also  that  he  dwells 
in  us,  and  that  we  are  joined  to  him  with  such  union  as  holds  between 
members  and  their  proper  head  ;  in  order  that  by  the  grace  of  this 
union,  we  may  become  partakers  of  all  his  benefits." — Sect.  v.  {Nic- 
mcycr's  Coll.  p.  164,  165.) 

One  more  extract  from  the  great  Reformer  must  suffice.  It 
is  taken  from  a  short  appendix  to  his  tract,  De  vera  parti cipa- 
iione  carnis  ct  sanguinis  Christi  in  sacra  cocna,  written  against 
the  virulent  Ilcsshuss  in  the  year  15G1,  near  tlie  close  of  his  life. 
The  object  of  the  appendix  is  to  set  forth  distinctly  the  points  of 
agreement  and  disagreement,  in  the  case  of  the  sacramental  ques- 
tion, with  a  view  to  ultimate  concord.  After  stating  the  points  with 
regard  to  which  both  sides  were  agreed,  touching  the  sacraments 
in  general  and  the  Lord's  supper  in  particular ;  this  among  the 
rest,  that  Christ  in  the  Supper  really  and  efficaciously  fulfils  all 
that  the  analogy  of  the  signs  demands,  so  that  there  is  offered 
to  us  a  true  communication  with  his  body  and  blood ;  he  goes 
on  to  say: 

"  It  remains  to  notice  the  points  with  regard  to  which  it  is  still  un- 
settled, in  what  light  they  are  to  be  viewed  or  represented. 

All  however,  who  are  possessed  of  sound  judgment,  and  approach 
the  subject  at  the  same  time,  without  passion,  must  allow  that  the 
controversy  is  simply  on  the  mode  of  eating ;  since  we  openly  and 
ingenuously  affirm,  that  Christ  becomes  ours,  in  order  that  he  may 
afterwards  impart  to  us  the  benefits  he  possesses  ;  that  his  body  also 
was  not  only  once  offered  for  our  salvation,  when  he  was  slain  upon 
\  the  cross  to  expiate  sin,  but  is  daily  extended  to  us  for  our  nourish- 
ment ;  so  that  while  he  himself  dwells  in  us,  we  may  have  an  inter- 
est also  in  all  his  blessings.  We  teach  finally,  that  he  is  vivific  be- 
cause he  inspires  his  life  into  us,  just  as  we  derive  strength  from  the 
nutriment  of  bread.  It  is  in  fixing  the  method  of  eating  then,  that 
contentions  arise.  Now  our  dei^nition  is,  that  the  body  of  Christ  is 
eaten,  inasmuch  as  it  forms  the  spiritual  aliment  of  the  soul.  We  call  it 
aliment  again  in  this  sense,  because  by  the  incomprehensible  power  of 
his  Spirit,  he  inspires  into  us  his  own  life,  so  that  it  becomes  common 


'-^  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

to  US  with  liirnself,  in  the  same  way  precisely  as  the  vital  sap  from  tlie 
root  of  a  tree  diffuses  itself  into  the  branches,  or  as  vigor  flows  from 
the  head  of  the  body  into  its  several  members.  In  this  definition, 
there  is  nothing-  captious,  nothing  obscure,  nothing  ambiguous  or  de- 
ceitful. 

That  some,  not  satisfied  with  this  clear  simplicity,  require  the  body 
of  Christ  to  be  swallowed,  is  agreeable  neither  to  the  authority  of 
Scripture  nor  the  testimony  of  the  ancient  Church ;  and  it  is  marvel- 
lous that  men  possessed  of  moderate  judgment  and  learning,  should 
contend  so  pertinaciously  for  the  new  comment.  What  the  Scriptures 
teach  is  not  at  all  called  by  us  into  question,  namely,  that  the  flesh  of 
Christ  is  truly  meat  and  his  blood  truly  drink  ;  since  they  are  truly 
received  by  us,  and  avail  to  solid  life.  We  profess  also  that  this  com- 
munication is  exhibited  in  the  Sacred  Supper.  Whoever  insists  on 
more,  certainly  exceeds  proper  limits." 

Again :  "  It  is  a  vain  dispute  moreover  that  is  made  about  the  twofold 
body.  The  character  of  Christ's  flesh  w^as  indeed  changed  when  it 
was  received  into  celestial  glory ;  whatever  was  terrene,  mortal  or 
perishable,  it  now  put  off.  Still  however  it  must  be  maintained,  that  : 
no  other  body  can  be  vivific  for  us,  or  may  be  counted  meat  indeed, 
save  that  which  was  crucified  to  atone  for  our  sins  ;  as  the  sound  of  j 
the  words  also  indicates.  The  same  body  then  which  the  Son  of  God 
once  offered  in  sacrifice  to  the  Father,  he  oflfers  to  us  daily  in  the  Sup- 
per, that  it  may  be  our  spiritual  aliment.  Only  that  must  be  held 
which  has  been  already  intimated  as  to  the  mode,  that  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  the  essence  of  the  flesh  should  descend  from  heaven  in  order 
that  we  may  be  fed  by  it ;  but  that  the  power  of  the  Spirit  is  suflicient 
to  penetrate  through  all  impediments,  and  to  surmount  all  local  dis- 
tance. At  the  same  time  we  do  not  deny,  that  the  mode  here  is  in- 
comprehensible to  human  thought;  for  flesh  naturally  could  neither 
be  the  life  of  the  soul,  nor  exert  its  power  upon  us  from  heaven,  and  not  j 
without  reason  is  the  communication,  which  makes  us  flesh  of  Christ's 
flesh  and  bone  of  his  bones,  denominated  by  Paul  a  great  mystery.  In 
the  sacred  Supper  then  we  acknowledge  it  a  miracle,  transcending 
both  nature  and  our  own  understanding,  that  Christ's  life  is  made 
common  to  us  with  himself,  and  his  flesh  given  to  us  as  aliment. 
Only  let  all  comments  be  kept  at  a  distance  that  are  repugnant  to  the 
definition  already  given,  such  as  those  concerning  the  ubiquity  of  the 
body,  or  its  secret  inclusion  under  tlie  symbol  of  bread,  or  its  sub- 
stantial presence  upon  the  earth. 

These  things  being  disposed  of,  a  doubt  still  appears  with  respect 
to  the  word  substance  ,•  which  is  readily  allayed,  if  we  put  away  the 
crass  imagination  of  a  manducation  of  the  flesh,  as  though  it  were 
like  corporal  food,  that  being  taken  into  the  mouth  is  received  by  the 
belly.  For  if  this  absurdity  be  removed,  there  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  deny  that  we  are  fed  with  Christ's  flesh  substantially  ;  since 
we  truly  coalesce  with  him  into  one  body  by  faith,  and  are  thus  made 
one  with  him.  Whence  it  follows  that  we  are  joined  with  him  by 
substantial  connection,  just  as  substantial  vigor  flows  down  from  the 
head  into  the  members.  The  definition  must  stand  then,  that  we  are 
made  to  partake  of  Christ's  flesh  substantially;  not  in  the  way  of  any 
carnal  mixture,  or  as  if  the  flesh  of  Christ  drawn  down  from  heaven 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORd's    SUTPER.  73 

entered  into  us,  or  were  swallowed  with  the  mouth  ;  but  because  the 
flesh  of  Christ  as  to  its  power  and  efficacy  vivifies  our  souls,  not 
otherwise  than  the  body  is  nourished  b}?"  the  substance  of  bread  and 
wine. 

Another  subject  of  controversy  is  the  word  spiritually ;  to  which 
many  are  averse,  because  they  thirik  that  it  implies  something  imagi- 
nary or  empty.  On  the  contrary  however,  the  body  of  Christ  is  said 
to  be  given  to  us  spiritually  in  the  Supper,  because  the  secret  energy 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  causes  things  that  are  separated  by  local  distance 
to  be  notwithstanding  joined  together;  so  that  life  is  made  to  reach 
into  us  from  heaven  out  of  the  flesh  of  Christ;  which  power  and 
faculty  of  vivification  may  be  said  not  unsuitably  to  be  something 
abstracted  from  his  substance,  provided  only  it  be  taken  in  a  sound 
sense,  namely  that  Christ's  body  remains  in  heaven,  while  neverthe- 
less life  flows  out  from  his  substance  and  reaches  to  us  who  sojourn 
upon  the  earth." — Calv.  0pp.  edit.  Amsielud.  Tom.  ix.  p.  743,744. 

It  seeins  strange  in  view  of  such  quotations  as  have  now  been 
presented,  that  any  should  think  of  still  calling  in  question  Cal- 
vin's faith  in  the  doctrine  of  a  real  communication  with  Christ's 
life  in  the  Lord's  Supper.     It  will  not  do   to  talk  of  figurative 
language  in  the  case,  and  to  remind  us  that  all  is  resolved  by 
him  constantly  into  a  spiritual  manducation  as  distinguished  from 
one  that  is  oral  and  physical.     This  is  allowed  on  all  hands ;  he 
was  no  Romanist  nor  Lutheran.     But  if  there  ever  was  a  clear 
case  we  have  one  here,  when  we  affirm  that  Calvin's  spiritual 
manducation  was  intended  by  himself  to  include  full  as   much, 
in  the  case  of  believers,  as  was  involved  in  the  Lutheran  hypo- 
thesis itself,  that  is  a  true  participation  of  the  substantial  life  of 
Christ's  body  and  blood,  according  to  the  faith  of  the  universal 
Church  from  the  beginning.     To  guard  against  carnal  miscon- 
struction, he  was  accustomed  indeed  to  speak  of  this  as  effected 
by  the  ascent  of  the  soul  to  Christ  in  heaven,  through  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  rather  than  by  a  proper  descent  of  Christ's 
nature  in  the  sacrament  to  the  earth.     But  this  affects  not  at  all 
the  substance  of  his  doctrine.     In  whatever  way  it  might  be 
supposed  to  occur,  he  held  and  taught  \he  fact  of  a  real  presence 
of  the  Saviour's   human  life,  for  the  soul  of  the  believer,  in  the 
sacramental  transaction.     Of  this  presence  and  communication 
too,  the  sacrament  as  such  was  by  the  Spirit  the  true  supernatu- 
ral vehicle  and  bearer.     The  Lutherans  have  pretended  indeed, 
that  he  acknowledged  no  inward  connection  between  the  insti- 
tution  and  the  grace  it  represented.     But  this  is  manifestly  false. 
He  does,  to  be  sure,  say  of  the  signs  that  they  have  no  virtue  or 
force   in  themselves  as  such.     Augustine  says  the   same  thing. 
But  both  Calvin  and  Augustine  hold  the  transaction  to  be  more 
than  what  falls  upon  the  senses.     In  this  view,  it  is  held  to  be 
truly  and  properly  the  form,  under  which  and  by  which,  through 

7 


^4  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

the  Spirit,  Christ  is  made  present.  Thus  on  1  Cor.  x.  3,  he 
says:  "The  Papists  confound  sign  and  tiling;  profane  men, 
such  as  Schwenkfeld  and  others  like  him,  rend  them  asunder; 
let  us  keep  the  middle;  that  is,  let  us  hold  the  conjunction 
established  by  the  JLord,  but  with  proper  distinction,  so  as  not 
to  transfer  rashly  to  one  what  belongs  to  the  other."  So,  still 
more  clearly,  on  1  Cor.  xi.  24.  "  Why  is  the  appellation  boch/ 
attributed  to  the  bread?  All  will  allow,  I  presume,  for  the  same 
reason  that  John  denominates  a  dove  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus 
far  it  is  agreed.  But  now  the  Holy  Ghost  was  so  called,  because 
he  had  appeared  under  the  form  (sitb  specie)  of  a  dove ;  whence 
the  name  is  transferred  to  the  visible  sign.  And  why  should  we 
deny  a  similar  metonymy  here,  by  which  the  name  of  the  body 
is  attributed  to  the  bread,  because  it  is  its  sign  and  symbol." 
Next  comes  the  meaning  of  the  metonymy  itself  It  is  more, 
he  tells  us,  than  a  figure  or  a  picture.  "The  dove  is  called  the 
Spirit,  as  being  the  sure  pledge  (fessei^n)  of  the  Spirit's  invisible 
presence.  So  the  bread  is  Christ's  body,  as  it  assures  us  cer- 
tainly of  the  exhibition  of  what  it  represents,  or  because  the  Lord 
in  extending  to  us  that  visible  symbol,  gives  us  in  fact  along  with 
it  his  own  body;  for  Christ  is  no  juggler,  to  mock  us  with  empty 
appearances.  Hence  it  is  to  me  beyond  all  controversy,  that 
the  reality  is  here  joined  u^ith  the  sign,  or  in  other  words  that, 
so  far  as  spiritual  virtue  is  concerned,  we  do  as  truly  partake  of 
Christ's  body  as  we  eat  the  bread."* 

*  F.  D.  Maurice,  of  King's  College,  London,  in  his  late  work  entitled  The 
Kingdom  of  Christ,  which  has  attracted  some  attention,  falls  grossly  into  the 
same  error  with  regard  to  Calvin,  which  it  is  here  attempted  to  expose.  The 
Calvinist,  he  says,  (vol.  ii.,  p.  105,)  "  requires  that  we  should  suppose  there  is 
no  object  present,  unless  there  be  something  which  perceives  it;  and  having 
got  into  this  contradiction,  the  next  step  is  to  suppose  that  faith  is  not  a  recep- 
tive, but  a  creative  power ;  that  it  makes  the  thing  which  it  believes."  He 
admits,  at  the  same  time,  "that  there  were  characteristics  in  the  creed  of  the 
Calvinist,  which  ought  especially  to  have  delivered  him"  from  the  general 
tendency  of  Protestantism  to  run  into  this  false  view.  So  far  as  Calvin  him- 
self is  concerned,  it  must  be  perfectly  plain  from  the  testimony  which  has  now 
been  presented,  that  the  charge  quoted  is  utterly  erroneous.  He  taught  clearly 
an  objective  presence  of  Christ's  life  in  the  sacramental  transaction  as  such, 
which  could  become  available  only  through  faith,  but  which  faith  could  not  be 
said,  in  any  sense,  to  create;  since  the  very  guilt  of  the  uij^worthy  communi- 
cant proceeds  mainly  from  this,  that  ho  treats  the  actually  present  grace  as 
though  it  were  a  mere  figment,  not  discerning  the  Lord's  body.  That  the 
"Calvinist"  of  modern  date  has  too  often  fallen  into  the  contradiction  of 
making  faith  creative,  in  the  sacrament,  rather  than  receptive,  is  indeed  most 
painfully  true.  But  in  doing  so  he  has  fallen  away  entirely  from  the  stand- 
|)oint  of  the  man  whose  name  he  professes  to  honour.  Whetlier  this  stand- 
point is  to  be  held  itself  responsible  for  the  apostacy,  is  another  question, 
perfectly  legitimate  and  of  immense  practical  importance;  which  it  becomes 
the  friends  of  the  Reformed  Clmrch  to  look  steadily  in  the  face.  If  Calvinism 
— the  system  of  Geneva — necessarily  runs  here  into  Zuinglianism,  we  may, 
indeed,  well  despair  of  the  whole  interest.  For  most  assuredly  no  Church  can 
stand,  that  is  found  to  be  constitutionally  unsacramental,  y 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORDS    SUPPER.  iO 

According  to  Schhicrmacher  (Der.  chr.  Glaube,  §  140),  llie 
Calvinistic  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper  connects,  not  indeed  with 
the  elements  as  such,  but  with  the  act  of  eating  and  drinking, 
not  simply  such  a  spiritual  enjoyment  of  Christ  as  was  taught 
by  Zuingli ;  but  the  real  presence  of  his  body  and  blood  to  be 
had  no  where  else  (die  nirgend  sonst  zu  habende  wirkliche 
Gegenwart  seines  Leibes  und  Blutes).  Both  views,  the  Luthe- 
ran and  Calvinistic,  he  tells  us,  acknowledge  a  real  presence  of 
Christ's  body  and  blood.  It  will  hardly  be  pretended,  that  such 
a  theologian  as  Schleiermacher  has  mistaken  the  sense  of  Calvin 
in  this  case.  It  deserves  to  be  noted  besides,  that  this  great 
master  of  ratiocination,  with  all  his  cool  and  free  spirit  of  theo- 
logical inquiry,  finds  no  absurdity  or  contradiction  whatever  in 
the  Calvinistic  theory  itself  He  prefers  it  on  the  whole  to  the 
view  of  Luther;  although  he  thinks  the  truth  may  require  still 
some  higher  middle  theory,  in  which  both  at  last  shall  be  recon- 
ciled and  made  complete.  The  Zuinglian  doctrine  he  says  has 
the  advantage  of  being  very  clear  and  easy  to  be  understood  ; 
but  it  is  quite  too  low  for  the  subject. 

Farel  and  Beza. 

At  the  Colloquy  of  Worms,  held  A.  D.  1557,  certaiii  delegates 
presented  themselves  from  the  Reformed  Gallic  Churches, 
namely,  William  Farel,  pastor  at  the  time  in  Neufchatel,  John 
SudaeuSy  a  citizen  of  Geneva,  Caspar  Carmel,  minister  of  the 
Chuich  in  Paris,  and  Theodore  Beza,  then  professor  at  Lausanne. 
They  exhibited  here  a  Confession  of  Faith,  which  is  to  be  con- 
sidered important,  as  embodying  not  simply  their  own  views,  but 
the  views  also  of  the  wide  religious  communion  which  they 
represented.  In  the  article  of  the  Lord's  Supper  it  employs  the 
following  language,  which  will  be  found  at  once  closely  coinci- 
dent with  the  representation  embraced  in  the  extracts  just 
furnished  from  Calvin  : 

"  We  confess  that  in  the  Supper  of  the  Lord  not  only  the  benefits 
of  Christ,  but  the  very  substance  itself  of  the  Son  Man;  that  is, 
the  same  true  flesh  which  the  Word  assumed  into  perpetual  personal 
union,  in  which  he  was  born  and  suffered,  rose  again  and  ascended 
to  heaven,  and  that  true  blood  which  he  shed  for  us  ;  are  not  only  sig- 
nified, or  set  forth  symbolically,  typically  or  in  figure,  like  the  me- 
mory of  something  absent,  but  are  truly  and  really  represented,  ex- 
hibited, and  offered  for  use ;  in  connection  w4th  symbols  that  are  by 
no  means  naked,  but  which,  so  far  as  God  who  promises  and  offers 
is  concerned,  always  have  the  thing  itself  truly  and  certainly  joined 
with  them,  whether  proposed  to  believers  or  unbelievers." 

This  last  clause  deserves  especially  to  be  noted,  as  affirming 


70  THE    MYSTICAL    I'RESEXCE. 

in  the  strongest  manner  the  ohjcctivc  force  of  the  institution." 
The  power  wiiich  it  carries,  as  the  medium  of  a  real  communi- 
cation with  the  flesli  and  blood  of  Christ,  is  in  no  sense  the 
product  of  our  piety  and  faith.  It  exists  in  the  divine  constitu- 
tion of  the  ordinance  itself;  tliough  it  can  be  of  no  value  of 
course,  where  no  organ  is  at  hand  for  its  reception.  The  article 
proceeds : 

"As  it  regards  the  mode  now  in  which  the  thing  itself,  that  is,  the 
true  body  and  true  blood  of  the  Lord,  is  connected  with  the  symbols, 
we  say  that  it  is  symbolical  or  sacramental.  We  call  a  sacramental 
mode  not  such  as  is  njrurative  merely,  but  such  as  truly  and  certainly 
represents,  under  the  form  of  visible  things,  what  God  along  with  the 
symbols  exhibits  and  offers,  namely,  what  we  mentioned  before,  the 
true  body  and  blood  of  Christ;  which  may  show  that  we  retain  and 
defend  the  presence  of  the  very  body  and  blood  of  Christ  in  the  Sup- 
per. So  that  if  we  have  any  controversy  with  truly  pious  and  learned 
brethren,  it  is  not  concerning  the  thing  itself,  but  only  concerning  the 
mode  of  the  presence,  which  is  known  to  God  alone,  and  by  us  be- 
lieved. 

"  Finally,  as  to  the  mode  in  which  the  thing  itself,  that  is,  the  natu- 
ral and  true  substance  of  Christ,  is  truly  and  certainly  communicated 
to  us,  we  do  not  make  it  to  be  natural,  nor  imagine  a  local  copulation, 
or  a  diffusion  of  Christ's  human  nature,  or  that  crass  and  diabolical 
transubstantiation,  or  any  gross  mingling  of  the  substance  of  Christ 
with  ours  ;  but  we  say  that  it  is  a  spiritual  mode,  that  is,  such  as  rests 
on  the  incomprehensibleenergy  of  God's  Spirit,  as  unfolded  to  us  in  that 
word  of  his  own,  This  is  my  body.  And  we  now  beg  all  brethren  dis- 
passionately to  consider,  whether  it  is  proper  that  those  who  thus 
think  and  teach  concerning  the  sacraments  of  Christ,  should  be 
branded  as  infidels  and  heretics." — Husjn7iinv,  Hist.  Sacram.  Pars  Alt. 
p.  433. 

Bcza  and  Peter  Martyr. 

In  the  year  15G1  a  conference  was  held  on  the  sn!)ject  of 
religion,  at  Poissy,  in  France,  in  the  presence  of  the  king  of 
Navarre,  and  many  other  distinguished  personages.  Jhza,  who 
was  now  settled  as  a  minister  at  Geneva,  and  Peter  Martyr, 
professor  of  divinity  in  Zurich,  appeared  here,  by  special  invita- 
tion, to  represent  the  interest  of  the  Reformed  faith.  Beza  on 
this  occasion  made  a  long  speech,  in  exposition  of  the  leading 
articles  of  the  new  confession,  which  was  characterized  by  great 
eloquence  and  power,  and  filled  the  court  and  all  present  with 
the  highest  admiration.  On  tlie  subject  of  the  Eucharist,  he 
reiterates  the  view  which  we  find  exhibited  in  the  extract  last 
given;  tjamely,  that  the  communion  of  the  believer  with  Christ 
in  this  ordinance  involves  a  real  participation  in  his  flesh  and 
blood. 


CALVINlSriC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORD's    SUPPER.  77 

"  We  do  not  say  what  some,  through  misapprehension  of  our  lan- 
guage, have  supposed  us  to  teach  :  that  there  is  in  the  holy  Supper  a 
commemoration  only  of  the  death  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Nor  do 
we  say,  that  we  are  by  it  partakers  only  of  the  fruit  of  his  death  and 
passion;  but  we  join  the  ground  also  with  the  produce,  {fundum  cfi/u 
frudibus,)  which  it  is  found  to  yield  ;  asserting  with  Paul,  that  the 
bread  which  we  break  by  divine  appointment,  is  the  cotumunion,  that 
is,  the  communication  of  Christ's  body  for  us  crucified,  and  the  cup 
which  we  drink,  the  communication  of  his  true  blood  for  us  poured 
out ;  yea,  in  that  same  substance,  which  he  took  in  the  womb  of  the 
virgin,  and  which  he  carried  up  into  heaven.  And  what  is  there  then, 
I  pray,  which  you  can  find  in  this  sacrament,  that  we  too  may  not  seek 
and  find  V'—Hosp.  IT.  p.  515. 

After  this  strong  statement,  he  goes  on  to  exclude  from  the 
doctrine,  in  terms  equally  distinct,  the  idea  of  transubstaiitiation 
in  the  first  place,  and  then  of  every  thing  like  a  local  compre- 
hension of  Christ's  body  in,  with  or  under  the  elements,  as 
taught  by  Luther.  In  opposition  to  every  such  imagination  he 
says :  "  We  affirm  that  his  body  is  as  far  removed  from  the  bread 
and  wine,  as  heaven  is  exalted  high  above  the  earth ;"  though 
he  adds  immediately,  that  the  reality  of  the  communion  is  in  no 
respect  impaired  by  this  consideration  ;  since  by  the  power  of 
faith,  in  a  spiritual  way,  we  still  partake  of  his  body  and  blood 
"  as  truly  as  we  see  the  sacraments  with  our  eyes,  touch  them 
with  our  hands,  take  them  into  our  mouths,  and  are  nourished 
and  supported  by  their  substdnce  in  our  corporal  life." 

The  remark  that  Christ's  body  and  the  elements  locally  con- 
sidered, are  as  far  apart  as  heaven  and  earth,  caused  a  general 
murmur,  we  are  told,  in  the  assembly,  and  was  made  the  occa- 
sion afterwards  of  no  small  reproach.  Beza  thought  it  neces- 
sary in  consequence  to  address  a  letter  to  the  queen  of  Navarre, 
craving  an  opportunity  to  explain  himself  more  fully  on  this 
point.     In  this  he  says  : 

*'  T  was  led  to  the  remark  which  'has  given  offence,  in  meeting  the 
objection  of  some  who,  through  misunderstanding,  charge  us  with 
wishing  to  exclude  Christ  from  the  sacrament ;  which  would  be  in- 
deed manifestly  impious.  Whereas  the  fact  is  we  hold  it  sure  from  " 
the  word  of  God,  that  this  precious  sacrament  was  instituted  by  the 
Son  of  God,  for  the  purpose  of  making  us  more  and  more  partakers  of 
the  substance  of  his  true  body  and  his  true  blood,  in  order  that  we 
may  thus  become  more  closely  united  to  him,  and  coalesce  with  him 
unto  eternal  life.  If  this  were  not  the  case,  it  would  not  be  the  Sup- 
per of  Jesus  Christ.  So  far  are  we  then  from  saying  Jesus  Christ  is 
absent  from  the  Supper,  that  we  of  all  men  abhor  that  blasphemy.  But- 
we  say  it  makes  a  great  difference  here,  whether  we  hold  Jesus  Christ 
to  be  present  in  the  Supper,  in  so  far  as  he  gives  us  in  it  truly  his  own 
body  and  his  own  blood,  or  make  his  body  and  blood  to  be  included 
in  the  bread.     The  first  we  affirm ;  the  second  we  deny,  as  repugnant 


78  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

to  the  truth  of  Christ's  nature,  to  the  article  on  the  ascension,  and  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  fathers." — Hasp.  II.  p.  516. 

This  colloquy  of  Poissy  was  continued  from  the  first  part  of 
Sojitember  till  towards  the  close  of  November.  It  was  thought 
best,  however,  in  the  progress  of  it.  to  give  it  a  private  form,  in 
place  of  the  public  character  under  which  it  was  commenced. 
For  this  purpose  five  delegates  were  appointed  on  the  part  of 
the  Romanists,  includingr  two  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne,  and  five 
on  the  part  of  the  Reformed,  to  confer  together  m  a  free  way 
on  the  various  subjects  in  debate.  The  representatives  of  the 
Reformed  Church  were  Beza,  Martyr,  Gallasius,  Marloratus, 
and  Espinaeus.  A  large  share  of  their  attention  was  given  by 
these  collocutors,  of  course,  to  the  sacramental  question.  As 
the  result  of  the  discussion,  they  agreed  finally  in  the  following 
formula,  as  expressing  their  common  belief. 

"  We  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Supper  offers,  gives,  and 
truly  exhibits  to  us,  the  substance  of  his  body  and  blood-,  by  the  ope- 
ration of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  that  we  receive  and  eat,  spiritually 
and  by  faith,  that  true  body  that  was  slain  for  us ;  that  we  may  be  bone 
of  his  bones  and  flesh  of  his  flesh,  and  so  be  vivified  by  him  and  made 
to  partake  of  all  that  is  wanted  for  our  salvation.  And  whereas  faith, 
resting  on  the  divine  word,  makes  what  it  perceives  to  be  present ;  and 
we  by  this  faith  receive  truly  and  efficaciously  the  true  and  natural  body 
and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  we  ac- 
knowledge in  this  respect  the  presence  of  the  body  and  blood  them- 
selves in  the  Supper." 

To  this  formula  the  delegates  on  the  Romanist  side  declared 
themselves  willing  to  subscribe,  as  well  as  those  on  the  side  of 
the  Reformed  Church  ;  and  most  of  the  prelates  in  attendance 
seemed  also  to  be  satisfied  with  it,  when  it  was  first  submitted 
for  their  approval.  But  the  authority  of  the  Sorbonne  led  sub- 
sequently to  its  general  rejection,  as  treasonable  to  the  Catholic^ 
faith;  and  the  five  Romanist , collocutors  fell  under  no  small 
reproach  in  consequence,  as  having  conspired  with  heretics  to 
wrong  the  orthodox  doctrine  of  the  Church.  Hosp.  II.  p.  519 — 
521. 

The  way  is  now  fairly  open  for  bringing  forward  the  testi- 
mony of  the  several  Confessions  which  were  formed  about  tHis 
time,  for  their  own  use,  by  the  different  national  branches  of  the 
Reformed  Church.  We  find  among  them  all  a  truly  remarkable 
correspondence  throughout;  but  no  where  is  it  more  striking, 
than  in  the  case  of  this  very  article  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The 
language  they  employ  is  sufiiciently  distinct  in  itself,  for  the 
most  part,  to  exclude  all  doubt  as  to  their  true  meaning  on  the 
point  with  which  wc  arc  now  concerned.    But  if  any  room  might 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    TIl^   LOKd's    SUITER.  79 

seem  to  be  left  for  hesitation,  it  must  be  altogether  barred  surely 
by  the  view  now  presented  of  the  actual  state  of  opinion,  at  the 
tiaie  when  these  symbolical  books  were  framed.  Tiie  more 
fully  we  become  acquainted  with  the  historical  connections  and 
relations  under  which  they  started  into  life,  the  more  shall  we 
feel  it  to  be  impossible  that  they  should  mean  any  thing  less 
than  tlie  full  strength  of  their  language  seems  to  mean.  And  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  their  his/urical  sense,  as  thus 
determined,  must  be  admitted  to  be  in  the  end  their  only  true 
sense. 

l^hc  Gallic  Confcssioit.  * 

This  was  formed  by  an  assembly  of  delegates  from  the  Re- 
formed Churches  of  France,  who  were  called  toorethcr  for  the 
purpose,  in  Paris,  in  the  year  1559.  It  follows  closely  the  doc- 
trine of  Calvin  and  Beza,  as  already  presented.  Some  have  sup- 
posed indeed  that  it  proceeded  from  the  j)en  of  Calvin  himself. 
But  of  this  there  is  no  historical  evidence,  and  the  supposition 
is  in  no  respect  necessary  to  account  for  the  agreement  just  men- 
tioned. The  agreement  serves  only  to  show,  that  the  doctrine 
of  Calvin  in  this  case,  was  the  doctrine  in  fact  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  which  came  now  to  be  incorporated  into  its  symbolical 
books  accordingly,  in  the  most  distinct  terms.  The  Confession 
teaches  that  Christ  "  truly  feeds  and  nourishes  us  with  his  flesh 
and  blood,  that  being  made  one  with  him,  we  may  have  with  him 
a  common  life." 

"  For  although  he  is  now  in  heaven,  and  will  remain  there  also  till 
he  shall  come  to  judge  the  world  ;  we  believe,  notwithstanding,  that 
through  the  secret  and  incomprehensible  energy  of  his  Spirit,  appre- 
hended by  faith,  he  nourishes  and  vivifies  us  by  the  substance  of  his 
body  and  blood.  We  say,  however,  that  this  is  done  spirilunlly^  not  as 
substituting  thus  an  imagination  or  thought  for  the  power  of  the  fact, 
but  rather  because  this  mystery  of  our  coalition  with  Christ  is  so 
sublime,  that  it  transcends  all  our  senses,  and  so  also  the  whole  course 
of  nature."— .'2r/.  36. 

"  We  believe,  as  before  said,  that  in  the  Supper,  as  in  Baptism, 
God  in  fact,  that  is,  indy  and  efficaciously,  grants  unto  us  all  that  is 
-thefe  sacramentally  represented ;  and  so  we  join  with  the  signs  the 
true  possession  and  fruition  of  what  is  thus  offered  to  us.  Wc  affirm, 
therefore,  that  those  who  bring  to  the  Lord's  table  the  vessel  of  a 
pure  faith,  truly  receive  what  the  signs  there  testify ;  namely,  that 
the  body  and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  are  not  less  the  meat  and  drink 
of  the  soul,  than  bread  and  wine  are  the  food  of  the  body." — Jj-t,  37. 
{Nlcmeyer  Coll.  Conf.j).  338.) 


8D  THE  AIYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

Old  Scotch  Confession. 

The  overtlirow  of  Popery  took  place-  in  Scotland  in  the  yciir 
1500  ;  al  wliich  time  also  this  Confession  was  produced,  under  the 
auspices  particularly  of  the  distinguished  Reformer,  John  Knox. 
On  the  point  now  in  hand  it  utters  itself  in  the  following  style: 

"  We  do  then  utterly  condemn  the  vanity  of  those  who  afhrm  that 
the  sacraments  are  nothing  else  but  mere  naked  signs.  Rather,  we 
surely  believe,  that  by  baptism  we  are  inserted  into  Christ,  and 
made  partakers  of  his  righteousness,  by  which  all  our  sins  are  covered 
and  remitted.  And  also,  that  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  rightly  used,  Christ 
is  so  united  to  us  as  to  be  the  very  nutriment  and  food  of  our  souls. 
Not  that  we  may  imagine  any  transubstantiation  of  the  bread  into  the 
natural  body  of  Christ,  and  of  the  wine  into  his  natural  blood,  as  the 
papists  have  perniciously  taught,  and  believe  to  their  own  damnation. 
But  this  union  and  conjunction  which  we  have  with  the  body  and 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  right  use  of  the  sacrament,  is  effected 
by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  carries  us  by  true  faith  above 
all  that  is  seen,  and  all  that  is  carnal  and  terrestrial,  and  causes  us 
to  feed  upon  the  body  and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  once  broken  for  us 
and  poured  out,  but  now  in  heaven,  appearing  for  us  in  the  presence 
of  the  Father.  And  though  the  distance  be  immense  in  space  between 
his  body  now  glorified  in  heaven  and  us  mortals  still  upon  the  earth, 
we  do  notwithstanding  firmly  believe  that  the  bread  which  we  break 
is  the  communion  of  his  body,  and  the  cup  which  we  bless  the  com- 
munion of  his  blood  ;  and  so  we  confess  that  believers  in  the  right  use 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  thus  eat  the  body  and  drink  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  we  believe  surely  that  he  dwells  in  them  and  they  in  him, 
yea,  that  they  become  thus  flesh  of  his  flesh  and  bone  of  his  bones; 
for  as  the  eternal  Deity  has  imparted  life  and  immortality  to  the  flesh 
of  Jesus  Christ,  so  likewise  his  flesh  and  blood,  when  eaten  and 
drunk  by  us,  confer  upon  us  the  same  prerogatives. — Jlrt.21.  {Nie- 
meyer,  p.  35"2,  353.) 

Belgic  Confession. 

This  dates  from  1563  ;  and  is  of  great  authority  and  force  as 
a  standard  exhibition  of  the  faith  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church,  both  in  Holland  and  in  this  country.  It  was  solemnly 
approved  besides  by  the  Synod  of  Dort,  and  may  be  said  to  be 
clothed  in  this  way  with  a  sort  of  oecumenical  character,  as  a 
true  exposition  of  the  faith  of  the  entire  Reformed  Church,  as 
it  stood  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Its  tes- 
timony on  the  subject  before  us  is  particularly  strong. 

"  The  sacraments  are  signs  and  visible  symbols  of  invisible  internal 
realities,  through  which  as  means  God  himself  works  in  us  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Those  signs  then  are  by  no  means  vain  or  void ; 
nor  are  they  instituted  to  deceive  or  disappoint  us.  For  the  truth  of 
them  is  Jesus  Christ  himself,  without  whom  they  would  be  of  no  force 
whatever." — Jlrt.  33. 


CALVINTSTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORD's    SUPPER.  81 

"  He  has  instituted  terrene  and  visible  bread  and  wine  to  be  the  sa- 
crament of  his  body  and  blood  ;  by  which  we  are  assured,  that  as  truly 
as  we  receive  and  hold  in  our  hands  this  sacrament,  and  eat  the  same 
with  our  mouth,  to  the  sustentation  of  our  natural  life,  so  truly  also 
do  we  by  faith,  which  is  as  it  were  the  hand  and  mouth  of  our  soul, 
receive  the  true  body  and  true  blood  of  Christ,  our  only  Saviour,  in 
our  souls,  to  the  promotion  of  our  spiritual  life.  Moreover,  it  is  most 
certain  that  Christ  commends  his  sacrament  to  us  so  earnestly  not 
without  cause,  as  himself  performing- in  us  really  all  that  he  represents 
to  us  in  those  sacred  signs;  although  the  mode  is  such  as  to  surpass 
the  apprehension  of  our  mind,  and  cannot  be  understood  by  any  ;  since 
the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  always  secret  and  incomprehensi- 
ble. We  may  say,  however,  that  what  is  eaten  is  the  very  natural  body 
ot  Christ,  and  what  is  drunk,  his  true  blood;  only  the  instrument  of 
medium  by  which  we  eat  and  drink  these  is  not  the  corporeal  mouth, 
but  our  own  spirit  itself,  and  this  by  faith."— .^r/.  35.  (Niemcyer,  n. 
383,385.)*  V  .y    5V 

Second  Helvetic  Confession. 

What  is  called  the  Second  or  Later  Helvetic  Confession,  was 
drawn  up  by  Henry  Bullinger,  in  the  year  1502;  though  it  did 
not  become  of  public  authority  before  the  year  1.5GG.  It  be- 
came in  the  end  tlie  standing,  universally  acknowledged  expo- 
sition of  the  faith  of  the  whole  Helvetic  Church,  and  had  great 
credit  also  in  foreign  countries.     On  the  subject  of  the  Lord's 

*  I  translate  from  the  Latin  ;  and  there  are  frequent  variations  in  the  text 
of  the  Confession  itself,  as  given  in  different  editions.  Thi^may  e.xphiin  any 
deviations  from  tlie  letter  of  the  English  \exs\on,  as  used  by  the  lleformcd 
Dutch  Church  in  this  country.  For  any  one  who  is  at  all  familiar  with  the 
view  of  Calvin,  or  with  the  true  character  of  the  sacramental  question  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  the  sense  of  the  Confession  is  too  clear  to  be  mistaken. 
Christ,  It  IS  true,  is  held  to  <'sit  always  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father  in  the 
heavens;"  but  notwithstanding  all  this,  he  "doth  not  cease  to  make  us  par- 
takers of  himself  by  faith."  And  to  guard  against  the  idea  of  a  mere  moral 
communication  in  the  case,  it  is  added,  that  he  conveys  to  us,  at  his  table,  not 
simply  his  benefits  or  merits,  but  these  as  inhering  in  his  person  ;  "  both  him- 
self, afid  the  merits  of  his  sufferings  and  death."  Christians  have  a  two-fold 
lite;  one  natural,  the  other  spiritual,  beginning  with  their  second  birth  "in 
j  the  communion  of  Die  body  of  Christ."  This  last  life  is  supported  by  a  living 
bread,  sent  from  heaven  for  the  purpose,  "  namely  Jesus  Christ,  who  nourishes 
and  strengthens  the  spiritual  life  of  believers  when  they  eat  him,  that  is  to 
say,  when  they  apply  and  receive  him  by  faith  in  the  spirit."  A  spiritual 
reception,  of  course,  but  still  a  rea/  reception  of  Christ's  true  human  and 
heavenly  life;  otherwise  the  article  must  be  held  guilty  of  the  most  egregious 
trifling,  in  the  case  of  one  of  the  most  solemn  and  perilous  points  in  theolocry. 
The  Form  for  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  the  Litursry  of  the 
Relormed  Dutch  Church,  corresponds  fully  with  the  doctrine  of  the^  Confes- 
sion, "  That  we  may  now  be  fed  with  the  true  heavenly  bread,  Christ  Jesus," 
the  service  exhorts,  "  let  us  not  cleave  with  our  hearts  unto  the  external  bread 
and  wine,  but  lift  them  up  on  high  in  heaven,  wheie  Christ  Jesus  is  our  advo- 
cate  at  the  right  hand  of  his  heavenly  Father,  whither  all  the  articles  of  our 
filth  lead  us;  not  doubting  but  we  shall  as  certainly  be  fed  and  refreshed  in 
our  souls,  through  the  working  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  tvith  his  body  and  blood,  as 
we  receive  the  holy  bread  and  wine  in  remembrance  of  him." 


82 


THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


Slipper  it  is  particularly  full.     Take  on  the  point  immediately 
before  us  the  following  extract: 

"Believers  receive  what  is  given  by  the  minister  of  the  Lord,  and 
eat  the  Lord's  bread  and  drink  of  the  Lord's  cup  ;  inwardly,  however, 
in  the  mean  time,  by  the  work  of  Christ  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  they 
partake  also  of  the  Lord's  flesh  and  blood,  and  are  fed  by  these  unto 
eternal  life.  For  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ  are  true  meat  and  drink, 
unto  eternal  life;  and  Christ  himself,  as  delivered  up  for  us  and  our. 
salvation,  is  that  which  mainly  makes  the  Supper,  nor  do  we  suffer 
any  thing  else  to  be  put  in  his  room." — Art.  21.  I 

The  article  then  goes  on,  in  explanation  of  this  statement,  to 
describe  different  forms  of  manducation.  There  is  first  a  cor- 
poral manducation,  such  as  the  Capernaites  had  in  their  mind, 
when  they  strove  among  themselves  saying,  How  can  this  man 
give  us  his  flesh  to  eat?  Then  there  is  a  spiritual  manducation, 
by  which  Christ  is  so  appropriated  in  the  way  of  ordinary  faith, 
that  he  lives  in  us  and  we  in  him.  "  By  this  is  not  meant  a 
merely  imaginary,  undefinable  food,  but  the  body  of  the  Lord 
itself  delivered  up  for  us,  which  however  is  received  by  believers, 
not  corporally,  but  spiritually  by  faith."  Still  different  from  this 
lastly  is  the  sacramental  manducation,  "  by  which  the  believer! 
not  only  participates  in  the  true  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord 
spiritually  and  internally,  but  outwardly  also  by  coming  to  the 
Lord's  table  receives  the  visible  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  body 
and  blood."  The  sacrament  adds  something  of  its  own  to  the 
ordinary  life  of  faith.  "  He  that  partakes  of  the  sacrament  out 
wardly  with  true  faith,  partakes  not  of  the  sign  only,  but  enjoy: 
also,  as  already  said,  the  thing  itself  which  this  represents." — \ 
{Nianajer,  p.  519,  520.) 

The  occasion  by  which  this  confession  became  public,  was  as 
follows.  A  spirit  of  the  most  violent  intolerance  had  come  to 
prevail  on  the  part  of  the  rigid  Lutherans,  excited  by  such  men 
as  Westphal,  Timann,  and  Hesshuss,  against  all  who  professed 
the  Reformed  doctrine;  but  in  no  direction  was  it  more  active 
than  towards  the  elector  of  the  Palatinate,  Frederick  the  Third. 
Fears  were  entertained  even,  that  he  would  be  excluded  from  the 
peace  between  the  Catholics  and  Protestants.  In  these  circum- 
stances, it  became  an  object  of  great  importance,  to  bring  all  the 
Reformed  Churches  into  as  close  a  connection  as  possible.  Fre- 
derick especially  had  his  heart  set  upon  this  point.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  year  L'Jf^S,  he  wrote  to  Bullinger  on  the  subject, 
and  begged  him  in  particular  to  send  him  as  soon  as  possible  a  ll 
confession  of  faith,  that  might  serve  to  rei)ress  the  cavils  of  the  fi 
Lutherans,  with  a  view  to  the  imperial  diet  which  was  then  close 
at  hand.     Bullinger  forwarded  him  the  confession  which  he  hadln 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    T.ORd's    SUrTER.  83 

prepared  three  years  before ;  which  so  pleased  the  elector,  that 
he  proposed  at  once  to  have  it  translated  and  published  in  the 
German  tongue.  It  was  now  felt  important,  to  make  it  if  possi- 
ble of  still  more  general  authority;  lor  which  purpose  it  was  sub- 
milted  to  the  other  Helvetic  Churches;  and  in  this  way,  being 
generally  approved  it  became  known  in  time  following  as  the 
proper  Swiss  Confession.  The  historical  relation  now  men- 
tioned, in  the  case  of  this  confession  is  important,  as  it  serves  to 
show  the  substantial  harmony  of  Switzerland  and  the  Palatinate 
on  the  sacramental  question,  at  the  time  it  was  published.  A 
harmony  too  that  rested  on  the  basis  of  the  Calvinistic  doctrine, 
as  it  has  been  already  explained  ;  for  that  this  doctrine  formed 
the  reigning  view  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  Palatinate, 
will  soon  be  placed  beyond  all  shadow  of  doubt. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism. 

Next  in  order  comes  the  venerable  symbol  of  the  German  Re- 
formed Church,  the  Catechism  of  the  Palatinate;   drawn  up,  in 
obedience  to  an  appointment  from  the  elector,  Frederick  111., 
by  Caspar  Oleviaii,^  disciple  of  Calvin,  and  Zacharias  Ursinus, 
a  friend  of  Melancthon  ;  approved  and  ratified  by  a  general  eccle- 
siastical synod  called  at  Heidelberg  for  the  purpose;  and  solemnly 
published  as  a  confessional  standard  in  the  year  1563.     It  has 
been  translated  into  all  modern  civilized  tongues,  honoured  with 
countless  commentaries,  and  exalted  by  general  acknowledgment 
to  a  sort  of  symbolical  authority  for  the  whole  Reformed  Church. 
To  place  its  testimony  in  a  proper  light,  it  is  necessary  to  no- 
Itice  a  little  more  particularly  than  has  yet  been  done,  the  actual 
posture  of  the  sacramental  controversy  in  Germany  at  the  time  it 
was  formed.    Only  in  this  way,  can  we  couie  to  a  clear  view  of  the 
circumstances  in  which  it  had  its  origin,  by  which,  in  the  nature 
bf  the  case,  its  character  and  meaning  are  to  be  interpreted. 
I     After  the  death  of  Luther,  A.  D.  154G,  the  controversy  on  the 
subject  of  the  sacrament  was  allowed  for  some  years  to  remain 
at  rest.     As  it  began  to  appear,  however,  before  long,  that  the 
bigh  ground  occupied  by  the  great  Reformer  was  coming  to  be 
silently  abandoned  by  many,  who  still  considered  themselves  true 
o  the  Augsburg  Confession,  a  violent  movement  was  gradually 
created,  antagonistically  to  this  tendency,  in  the  opposite  direc- 
ion.     It  commenced  with   an   assault,  in   the   first  place,  upon 
'Jalvin   and   Peter  Martyr,  who  had   both   been   led  to  declare 
hemselves  openly  upon  the  subject,  in  a  way  that  was  necessa- 
ily  offensive  to   such   as  were   still  disposed  to  insist  rigidly  on 
,he  extreme  view  ;    though  no  thought  of  giving  ofi'ence,  or  pro- 
voking controversy,  was  entertained  probably  at  the  tiaie;  as  it 


84  THE    MYSTICAT,    PRESF-NC?,. 

was  supposed  the  mind  of  the  church  had  come  to  be  very  gene- 
rally inclined  to  the  same  moderate  view,  or  that  it  was  prepared 
at  legist  to  treat  it  with  patient  indulgence.     But  the  case  soon 
showed  itself  to  be  different.     'J'he  war  was  opened,  in  the  year 
1552,   by  Joachim  Westphal,  preacher  in   Hamburg,  with   his 
yarraffo ;  which  was  intended  to  be  at  once  a  battle  challenge 
to  the  Swiss  churches,  with  Calvin  at  their  head,  and  a  call  to 
arms  upon  all  who  could  be  made  to  feel  with  himself  that  the 
strong  towers  of  Lutheran   orthodoxy  were  in  danger  of  being 
overthrown.     7^his  was   followed  by  a  second  attack,  the  follow- 
ing year;  and  then  again,  the  year  after,  by  a  third.    Meanwliile 
other   influences   also  were   employed,  but  too   successfully,  to 
rouse  the  spirit  of  party  hatred   and   party  strife,  in  the  same 
direction.     Calvin  found  himself  now  compelled  to  take  np  the 
pen,    in    self-defence.     Gradually   the    battle    thickens.     Other 
champions  appear  in   the   field.     The  Lutheran  church   is  torn 
with  dissension   and  distraction  in  her  own  bosom.'    The  rigid 
party,  "fierce  for  orthodoxy,"  have  their  hands  full  at  last  with  I 
the  work  of  suppressing  heresy  at  home.     The  horrible  sacra- 1 
mentarian  doctrine  is  found  everywhere  lifting  up  its  head,  or  at' 
least  struggling  to  do  so,  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  Augsburg  1 
(Confession  itself    And  what  is  worse  still,  the  venerable  author! 
of  the  Confession,  still  living  at  Wittemberg,  refuses   to  lift  a  I 
finger  in  opposition  to  the  mischief;  nay,  is  more  than  suspected 
of  being  himself  in  league  with  it  in  his  heart.    No  wonder  that 
all  Protestant  Germany  is  mad  with  theological  excitement  and  j 
passion.  "         { 

A  full  account  of  these  agitations  and  conflicts,  may  be  found  j 
in  Planck's  '*  GrschirJdc  dcr  Pi-otcsfantischcn  Theologie,"  vol.  v.  j 
Second  Part.     They  form  one  of  the  most  strange  and  interest- 
ing chapters,  in  the  church  history  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Jiut  what  was  the  nature  of  the  question,  on  which  the  parties 
showed  themselves  to  be  at  issue  in  this  case,  with  regard  to  the  i 
Lord's  Supper?     It  related  not  at  all  to  the  reality  of  the  sacra-  ; 
mental  presence,  but  only  and  wholly  to  its  mode.     The  contro- 1 
versy  was  not  at  all  between  the  high  view  of  Luther  and  the  low  i 
theory  commonly  attributed   to  Zuingli.     The   great  point  was 
conceded  now  on   all  hands,  that  the  sacrament   involves  a  real  i 
p:irticipation  in  the  substance  of  Christ's  flesh  and  blood,  that  is  j 
in   his  true   human   life  itself,  as  the  only  ground  of  our  salva-  I 
tion.     With  this  confession  however  the  rigid   party  were  not  i 
satisfied.    They  insisted  on  certain  definitions  and  admissions  be-  \ 
sides,  which  appeared  to  them  necessary  to  carry  out  the  doctrine  \ 
in  its  true  sense.     They  contended   for  the  formula,  '*  In^irifh, 
and  under"  as  indispensable  to   a  complete  expression  of  the 
sacramental  presence.      The  comnmnication  must  be  allowed 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORD's    SUPPER.  85 

to  be  by  tlie  mouth.  It  must  be  granted  in  the  case  of  all  who  i 
eat,  whether  with  or  without  faith.  Finally,  the  ubiquity  of 
Christ's  body,  and  the  communicatiu  idiomatum  in  its  full  extent, 
must  be  accepted  also,  as  the  only  basis  on  which  the  doctrine 
could  find  a  solid  foundation.  It  was  for  refusing  to  admit 
these  extreme  requisitions  only,  that  the  other  party  was  branded 
with  the  title  Sacrafnentarian,  and  held  up  to  odium  in  every 
direction  as  the  pest  of  society.  It  was  not  the  Zuinglian  view 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  but  the  Calvinistic  view,  in  all  its  length 
and  breadth,  as  already  described,  which  was  now  recognized  as 
the  proper  doctrine  of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  as  such  pur- 
sued with  unrelenting  hate  by  the  high  toned  orthodoxy  of  the 
day.     It  is  important  to  bear  this  continually  in  mind. 

The  intestine  war  broke  forth  first  in  the  city  of  Bremen ; 
where  it  soon  became  very  violent,  and  gradually  involved  the 
whole  country  in  commotion.  The  immediate  occasion  of  it 
was  Rirnished  by  the  distinguished  preacher,  Albert  Harden- 
bfrg ;  a  man  who  stood  in  the  highest  credit  for  learning  and 
pjety,  and  was  considered  in  some  respects  the  main  ornament 
of  the  place  to  which  he  belonged ;  but  who,  unfortunately  for 
himself,  was  suspected  of  being  more  Reformed  than  Lutheran 
in  his  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  was  not  the  least  consider- 
ation in  his  prejudice,  that  he  was  known  to  be  in  regular  cor- 
respondence with  Melancthon,  as  one  of  his  most  intimate  and 
confidential  friends.  The  movement  against  him  was  com- 
menced in  1555,  by  John  Timami,  one  of  his  colleagues  in  the 
ministry  of  Bremen,  who  now  came  forward  with  great  zeal  to 
the  assistance  of  Westphal  in  his  crusade  against  heresy.  The 
other  preachers  were  after  some  time  fully  engaged  also  in  the 
process  of  persecution.  Every  effort  was  made  to  bring  the  man 
into  discredit  with  the  magistracy  and  the  people,  as  an  enemy 
of  the  true  Lutheran  faith.  The  pulpits,  in  the  end,  were  made 
to  ring  with  reproaches,  hurled  upon  his  head.  Conspiracy  and 
intrigue  knew  no  rest  for  years.  Timann  died  in  the  midst  of 
the  controversy;  but  his  mantle  fell  upon  others,  who  easily  sup- 
plied his  place.  Other  cities  and  states,  Hamburg,  Lubeck, 
Lunenburg,  Saxony,  Mecklinburg,  Wirtemburg,  Denmark, 
were  secretly  engaged  to  interpose  their  mediation.  In  the 
end,  Hardenberg  found  it  necessary  to  retire.  The  controversy, 
however,  was  still  continued,  and  came  to  a  more  favourable 
result  ultimately  than  might  have  been  expected.  It  lasted  alto- 
gether thirteen  years,  holding  the  city  of  Bremen  in  violent  dis- 
turbance the  whole  time. 

In  close  connection  with  the  religious  struggle  of  Bremen,  so 
far  as  its  interior  history  was  concerned,  stands  the  religious 
revolution  of  the  Palatinate,  which  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  on  the 

8 


80  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

ears  of  Lutheran  Germany,  while  that  struggle  was  still  in  pro- 
gress.    It  took  place  under  the  following  circumstances. 

One  of  the  most  violent,  unsettled  spirits  of  this  turbulent 
period,  was  Tihmann  Hesshuss;  rendered  memorable  if  by 
nothing  else,  at  least  by  the  merciless  castigation  inflicted  upon 
him  by  Calvin,  in  his  last  tract  on  the  Sacrament.*  He  was  a 
man  of  inordinate  ambition,  fond  of  money,  constitutionally 
intolerant  and  overbearing;  and  withal,  whether  by  conviction 
or  accident,  a  perfect  zealot  in  the  cause  of  TiUtheran  orthodoxy. 
In  the  year  1558,  he  was  appointed  first  professor  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Heidelberg,  and  general  superintendent  of  all  the 
churches  in  the  Palntinale.  Six  months,  however,  had  not 
elapsed,  before  he  had  made  himself  here,  as  in  all  places  where 
he-  had  lived  before,  an  object  of  very  general  dislike.  In  par- 
ticular, he  was  drawn"  into  strong  collision  with  one  William 
Klehlz,  who  occupied  the  situation  of  a  deacon  at  the  time  in 
Heidelberg;  d  man  also,  it  would  seem,  of  most  unclerical  tem- 
per, and  but  little  inclined  to  maintain  friendly  relations  with 
the  new  superintendent.  It  soon  came  between  them  to  an 
open,  violent  rupture;  in  which  the  sacramental  question  was 
made  the  prominent  subject  of  quarrel.  Hesshuss  charged  Kle- 
)iz  with  heresy,  as  favouring  the  Calvinistic  view  of  Christ's 
presence  in  the  Lord's  Supper  rather  than  the  strict  T  utheran. 
The  point  of  his  apostacy  was  found  mainly  in  this,  that  lie 
affirmed  the  participation  of  Christ's  body  in  the  Supper  to  be 
by  filth  [\n{\  not  by  tho  niDiith.  Hesshuss  grew  savage  in  his 
denunciations;  and  poured  forth  his  indignation  every  sabbath, 
from  the  pulpit,  upon  the  new  Ariv?,  who  had  made  his  appear- 
ance in  the  Heidelberg  Church;  not  sparing  at  the  same  time 
the  university  and  the  authorities  of  the  city,  for  their  supposed 
indifference  to  the  portentous  mischief  with  which  they  were 
threatened.  Kiehiz  returned  violence  for  violence.  The  whole 
city  WHS  thrown  into  commotion.  In  these  circumstances, 
Frederick  III.  succeeded  to  the  electorate.  The  moderate  mea- 
sures lie  employed  in  the  first  place,  to  allay  the  strife,  proved 
unavailing.     In  the  end,  he  found  it  necessary  to  resort  to  more 

*  Dilucida  Explicatio  Sana  Doctrina  de  Vera  Parti cipatione  Carnis  et  San- 
guinis Christi,  in  Sacra  Ca;na.  Ad  discutiendas  Heshusu  nebulas.  Published 
1561.  In  this  tract,  Hesshuss  is  handled,  as  we  say,  without  gloves.  Inscitia 
cum  iniprudentia,stoliditas  et  pTotcrvia,  delirium,  Sc,  urc  charged  upon  him 
in  lull  measure;  and  sucli  epithets  as  impurns  srurra,  epilepticus,  noster 
Thraso,  impura  bestia,  ^c,  appear  plentifully  sprinkled  over  the  whole  dis- 
cussion.  In  conclusion,  the  writer  excuses  himself  from  iartiier  controversy 
with  the  man  as  being  destitute  of  all  modesty  and  reason,  delivering  him 
over  at  the  same  time  to  ilie  discipline  of  IJeza.  "Si  qua  esset  in  bestia 
ingenuitas,  vel  docilitas,  ah  ejus  calumniis  me  purgareni  ;  sed  quia  taurus  est 
indomitue,  lasciviam  in  qua  nimis  exultat,  Beza'  subigcndam  irado  "  0pp.  ix. 
p.  723-742.  '  ^i- 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINC    OF    THK    LORd's    SUPPER.  87 

vigorous  means.  Both  Hesshuss  and  Klebiz  were  dismissed 
accordingly  from  office;  and  in  this  way  the  public  quiet  was; 
restored. 

Frederick  was  now  made  to  feel  tlie  importance  of  having  the 
subject  of  this  controversy  brought  to  some  such  settlement,  in 
his  dominions,  as  might  preserve  the  peace  of  the  country  in 
time  to  come.  He  formed  the  plan  accordingly  of  establishing 
a  rule  of  faith  for  the  Palatinate,  to  which  all  should  be  required 
to  conform.  To  sustain  himself  in  this  object,  he  wrote  to  Me- 
lancthon,  asking  his  counsel  and  advice.  This  drew  forth  the 
celebrated  response  of  Melancthon,  which  became  public  after 
his  death,  and  involved  his  memory  in  no  small  reproach,  with 
the  stiff  party  to  whose  views  it  was  found  to  be  opposed.  It 
approved  the  elector's  course,  in  silencing  the  sacramental  con- 
troversy, and  also  his  purpose  of  excluding  strife  by  requiring  all 
to  submit  to  some  common  form  of  words;  whilst  it  very  deci- 
dedly condemned  the  use  of  any  such  terms  for  this  purpose,  as 
were  pressed  upon  the  Church  by  Hesshussand  men  of  the  same 
stamp.  The  elector  was  already  decided  in  his  own  mind,  in 
favour  of  the  moderate  or  Calvinistic  view  of  the  sacrarnent.  He 
found  the  same  disposition  predominant  also  among  his  people. 
In  these  circumstances,  his  election  was  soon  made.  It  was 
resolved  that  the  Palatinate  should  become  Reformed. 

This  event  created,  of  course,  a  great  sensation.  Among 
others,  the  son-in-law  of  the  elector,  duke  John  Frederick  of 
Saxony,  was  much  disturbed  and  troubled  at  the  tidings.  He 
immediately  took  a  journey  to  Heidelberg,  carrying  with  him  a 
pair  of  his  most  expert  theologians,  Morlin  and  Stossel,  to  rescue 
his  relative,  if  possible,  from  the  dangerous  snare  of  Calvinism, 
into  which  he  had  so  unhappily  fallen.  For  this  purpose  a  public 
disputation  was  proposed,  to  be  held  between  the  two  theologians 
just  mentioned,  and  any  the  elector  might  see  fit  to  nominate 
for  the  defence  of  his  own  cause.  The  proposal  was  accepted  ; 
and  a  disputation  followed,  which  was  continued  for  five  full 
days  in  the  presence  of  the  two  princes.  It  was  held  in  the 
month  of  June,  1560. 

The  Calvinistic  cause  was  maintained  by  Peter  Bocquin,  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  theologians  at  the  time  in  Heidelberg, 
The  whole  debate  turned  only  upon  the  mode  of  the  eucharistio 
presence.  The  divines  of  John  Frederick  contended  for  the 
high  Lutheran  doctrine  of  a  true  corporeal  presence,  in^with  aiul 
under  the  bread;  to  be  apprehended  orally  and  not  simply  in  a 
spiritual  way;  for  unbelievers  accordingly,  as  well  as  for  be- 
lievers. Bocquin,  on  the  other  hand,  maintained  the  view,  that 
Christ  is  present  to  the  organ  of  faith  only,  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.     He  allowed Jiowever,  not  only  "that  the  body  is 


88 


THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


presented  with  the  bread,"  but  also  "that  the  true  substance  of 
the  true  body  is  received  by  believers  ;"  and  showed  convincingly, 
that  this  does  not  make  it  necessary  to  suppose  an  oral  commu- 
nication, or  to  hold  that  the  body  is  either  in  the  bread  or  luukr 
it.  The  result  of  the  whole  disputation  was,  that  the  elector 
found  himself  only  more  confirmed  than  before,  in  his  resolution 
to  establish  the  Reformed  doctrine  in  the  Palatinate. 

In  these  circumstances,  ihe  Heidelberg  Catechism  was  pro- 
duced, and  made  the  public  formulary  of  faith,  in  the  way  already 
stated.  We  may  easily  understand,  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
on  what  view  its  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper  must  necessarily 
be  constructed.  Tt  occupies  the  Calvinistic  ground,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  Lutheran  on  the  one  side  and  the  Zuinglian 
on  the  other.  It  rejects  explicitly  the  idea  of  an  oral  manduca- 
tion;  but,  as  Planck  remarks,  teaches  also  in  the  clearest  terms, 
that  the  soul  of  the  believer  is  truly  fed,  in  this  sacrament,  by  an 
actual  participation  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ..  But  let  us 
now  hear  the  Catechism  itself 

In  answer  to  Question  75,  it  is  said  that  Christ,  "feeds  and 
nourishes  my  soul  to  everlasting  life,  with  his  crucified  body  and 
shed  blood,  as  assuredly  as  I  receive  from  the  hands  of  the  minister, 
and  taste  with  my  mouth,  the  bread  and  cup  of  the  Lord,  as  certain 
signs  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ." 

"  Quest.  76.  What  is  it  then  to  eat  the  crucified  body  and  drink  the  shed 
blood  of  Christ  ? 

"Ans.  It  is  not  only  to  embrace  with  a  believing  heart  all  the  suf- 
ferings and  death  of  Christ,  and  thereby  to  obtain  the  pardon  of  sin 
and  life  eternal  ;  but  also,  besides  that,  to  become  more  and  more  united 
to  his  sacred  body,  by  the  Holy  Ghost  who  dwells  both  in  Christ 
and  in  us ;  so  that  we,  though  Christ  is  in  heaven  and  we  on  earth, 
are  notwithstanding,  '  flesh  of  his  flesh  and  bone  of  his  bone  ;'  and 
that  we  live  and  are  governed  forever  by  one  spirit,  as  members  of  the 
same  body  are  by  one  soul." 

"  Quest.  79.  Why  then  doth  Christ  call  the  bread  his  body,  and  the 
cup  his  blood,  or  the  new  covenant  in  his  blood  i  and  Paul  the  communion 
of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  ? 

"Ans.  Christ  speaks  thus,  not  without  great  reason;  namely  not  only 
thereby  to  teach  us  that  as  bread  and  wine  support  this  temporal  life, 
so  his  crucified  body  and  shed  blood  are  the  true  meat  and  drink 
whereby  our  souls  are  fed  to  eternal  life;  but  more  especially,  by  these 
visible  signs  and  pledges  to  assure  us,  that  we  are  as  really  partakers 
of  his  true  body  and  blood,  (by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,)  as 
we  receive  by  the  mouths  of  our  bodies  these  holy  signs  in  remem- 
brance of  him ;  and  that  all  his  sufierings  and  obedience  are  as  ccr- 
tamly  ours  as  if  we  had  in  our  own  persons  suffered  and  made  satis- 
faction for  our  sins  to  God."  I 

Here  we  have  all  the  characteristic  positions  and  distinctions 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINK    OF    THE    LORd's    SUPPER.  89 

of  Calvin's  theory,  plainly  brought  into  view ;  and  with  the 
knowledge  of  this  theory  familiar  to  our  minds,  and  the  historical 
conditions  under  which  the  Catechian  was  created  full  in  sight, 
we  must  do  violence  to  all  sound  interpretation,  if  we  can  allow 
ourselves  to  understand  it  in  any  other  sense.  True  to  the  gene- 
ral form  in  which  the  controversy  stood  at  the  time,  it  affirms  a 
real  communion  with  Christ's  flesh  and  blood  ;  allows  the  fact ; 
but  refuses  to  be  bound  by  the  Lutheran  determination  of  the 
mode.  The  presence  of  Christ  is  not  "  i?i,  with  and  under"  the 
bread,  but  only  ivith  it ;  not  for  the  mouth,  but  only  for  faith  ; 
and  so  of  course,  though  this  is  not  expressly  mentioned,  not  for 
unbelievers  but  for  believers  only.  It  is  however,  in  this  way,  a 
true  presence.  The  believer  partakes  of  Christ,  not  only  in 
figure,  but  in  fact;  not  of  his  benefits  simply,  but  of  his  actual 
life ;  not  of  his  life  as  divine  merely,  but  of  the  substance  of  his 
human  life,  as  denoted  by  his  body  and  blood.  The  signs  not 
only  testify  to  us  the  general  truth  that  Christ  is  our  life,  but 
seal  this  truth  to  us  as  a  fact  actualized  along  with  their  exhibi- 
tion and  use.  To  say  that  by  the  participation  of  Christ's  body 
and  blood  the  Catechism  means  only  a  moral  union  with  him, 
by  faith  and  an  interest  in  the  benefits  of  his  death,  is  to  charge 
it  with  the  most  wretched  tautology,  where  with  its  ^^  besides 
that"  and  its  "  7nore  especially"  it  plainly  intends  a  climax  ;  since 
according  to  this  view  the  second  proposition,  in  each  case, 
must  be  considered  an  unmeaning  repetition  simply  of  the  sense 
of  the  first,  in  terms  far  more  obscure  and  hard  to  understand. 
No  such  poor  tautology  can  be  allowed.  The  Catechism  counts 
it  not  enough,  that  we  embrace  the  offer  of  salvation,  as  some- 
thing separate  from  Christ ;  we  must  be  incorporated  with  his 
life,  we  must  have  part  in  the  very  substance  of  his  flesh  and 
blood,  in  order  that  we  may  have  part  truly  at  the  same  time  in 
all  the  blessings  he  has  procured,  as  though  "we  had  in  our  own 
persons  suffered  and  made  satisfaction  for  our  sins  unto  God." 

We  may  be  told  indeed  that  the  language  of  the  Catechism, 
and  of  the  other  Confessions  also  which  have  been  quoted,  must 
be  taken  to  some  extent  in  a  figurative  sense;  since  it  is  admitted 
that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  not  corporeally  present  in 
the  sacrament,  and  they  cannot  therefore  be  taken  literally  into 
the  believer's  person.  Allowing  this  however,  in  the  sense  of 
the  objection  itself,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  the  figure  may 
be  resolved  into  any  such  low  meaning  as  would  empty  it  of  its 
force  and  spirit  altogether.  If  by  eating  the  flesh  and  blood  of 
Christ  the  framers  of  these  confessions  meant  only  to  express,  by 
a  strong  figure,  the  act  of  believing  upon  him  and  appropriat- 
ing his  merits,  they  must  be  allowed  to  have  uttered  themselves  in 
a  most  careless  way  ;  all  the  more  marvellous,  not  to  say  absolutely 

8* 


90  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

senseless,  that  it  was  directly  adapted  to  encourage  that  very ' 
superstition  of  a  gross  corporeal  presence,  based  upon  the  letter 
of  Christ's  words,  which  with  all  their  force  they  continually  op- 
posed. The  thought  is  absurd.  By  flesh  and  blood,  they  mean 
the  true  body  of  Christ;  the  same  that  was  born  of  Mary,  and 
hung  upon  the  cross,  and  is  now  enthroned  in  heaven.  This 
the  believer  feeds  upon,  not  carnally,  but  spiritually :  so  however 
that  its  true  and  proper  substance,  the  reality  which  belongs  to 
it  as  life,  human  life,  is  conveyed  over  into  his  person.  In  this 
way  he  "  becomes  united  more  and  more  to  his  sacred  body,  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  so  as  to  be  truly  "  flesh  of  his  flesh  and  bone 
of  his  bone,"  even  as  limb  and  head  are  filled  and  ruled  with  the 
,"?ame  life  in  the  body  physically  considered. 

But  this  "  sacred  body"  of  the  Saviour,  we  hear  it  sometimes 
said,  is  the  Church.  Allow  it  to  be  so ;  it  only  follows  that  the 
totality  of  Christ's  life,  including  his  substantial  humanity,  is  in 
the  Church,  by  organic  derivation  from  himself  as  its  head.  So 
that  we  come  at  last  to  the  same  result.  To  be  incorporated 
with  the  Church,  in  this  sense,  is  to  be  incorporated  with  Christ 
at  the  same  time  in  his  true  human  life,  in  the  way  already  de- 
scribed. But  the  Catechism  has  no  reference  to  the  Church  in 
this  case;  especially  not  to  the  Church  in  any  such  external 
view,  as  the  interpretation  now  noticed  is  meant  to  imply.  The 
"  sacred  body"  to  which  his  people  are  more  and  more  united,  is 
his  own  proper  person  in  human  form,  once  crucified  for  our 
sins  and  now  gloriously  exalted  for  our  justification  in  heaven.* 
Such  was  the  view  of  the  Reformed  Church  at  this  time.  Such 
is  the  sense  of  the  Catechism. 

Should  any  doubt  however  still  linger,  with  regard  to  the  sa- 
cramental doctrine  of  the  Catechism,  as  now  stated,  it  must  be 
annihilated  certainly  by  our  next  authority.  This  is  the  testi- 
mony of  Ursinus  himself 

Ursinus. 

The  works  of  this  divine  have  been  published  in  three  folio 
volumes.  Having  unfortunately  no  access  to  these  in  their  ori- 
ginal form,  I  can  only  refer  to  them  in  an  indirect  way.  They 
include  a  good  deal  on  the  subject  of  the  sacraments.  Hospi- 
nian  (Hist.  Sacram.  Pars  Altera,  p.  659,000)  mentions  particu- 

*  Calvin  expressly  rejects  the  idea,  tliat  hy  the  body  of  Christ,  to  which  we 
are  united  in  the  sacrament,  is  to  be  understood  merely  the  Church.  He  repels 
as  slanderous,  the  attempt  to  fasten  on  his  view  this  consequence;  "quasi 
mysticum  in  Coena  corpus  Bumamus  pro  Ecclesia.  Hoc  certe,  velint  nolint, 
nobis  principium  cum  ipsis  commune  est,  designari  Christi  verbis  verum  illud 
corpus,  cujus  immolatio  nos  Peo  reconciljavit."     Opp.  ix.,  p.  701. 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORD's    SUPPER.  91 

larly  a  tract  from  his  pen,  which  was  first  published,  A.  D.  1564, 
in  the  name  of  the  theological  fiiculty  of  Heidelberg.  It  bore 
for  its  title,  "The  True  Doctrine  of  the  Holy  Supper  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  faithfully  expounded  from  the  principles  and 
sense  of  the  divine  Scriptures,  the  ancient  and  orthodox  Church, 
and  also  of  the  Augsburg  Confession."  In  the  third  chapter  of 
this  work,  it  is  proposed  to  settle  the  true  state  of  the  question, 
which  was  the  subject  of  controversy  in  the  Protestant  Church. 
This,  it  is  declared,  is  not  whether  the  flesh  of  Christ  be  eaten ; 
for  this  none  of  us  deny;  but  how  it  is  eaten."  Here  the  Lu- 
therans answer,  corporally  and  orally,  by  the  godly  and  ungodly. 
We  say,  on  the  contrary,  spiritually  only  by  believers." 

The  earliest  commentary  we  have  upon  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism, is  that  of  Ursinus  himself,  published  from  his  divinity  lec- 
tures, after  his  death,  by  David  Parens.  This  has  been  trans- 
lated from  the  original  Latin  into  English.  Not  having  the 
Latin  work  at  hand,  I  can  only  appeal  to  the  translation,  the 
"  Summe  of  Christian  Keligioii  bij  Zacharias  Ursimts,"  as  pub- 
lished, London,  IG45.  The  subject  of  the  sacraments  is  dis- 
cussed in  it,  of  course,  at  large.  The  following  quotations  will 
serve  to  give  a  fair  view  of  the  author's  doctrine,  with  regard  to 
the  Lord's  Supper. 

"  These  two,  I  mean  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified,  are  united  in 
this  sacrament,  not  by  any  natural  copulation^  or  corporal  and  local 
existence  one  in  the  other ;  much  less  by  transubstantiation,  or  chang- 
ing one  into  the  other;  but  by  signifvino-,  sealing,  and  exhibiting  the 
one  by  the  other;  that  is  by  a  sacramental  union,  whose  bond  is  the 
promise  added  to  the  bread,  requiring  the  faith  of  the  receivers. 
Whence  it  is  clear,  that  these  things  in  their  lawful  use,  are  always 
jointly  exhibited  and  received,  but  not  without  faith  of  the  promise, 
viewing  and  apprehending  the  thing  promised,  now  present  in  the 
sacrament ;  yet  not  present  or  included  in  the  sign  as  in  a  vessel  con- 
taining it;  but  present  in  the  promise,  which  is  the  better  part,  life, 
and  soul  of  the  sacrament.  For  they  want  judgment  who  affirm,  that 
Christ's  body  cannot  be  present  in  the  sacrament,  except  it  be  in  or 
under  the  bread  ;  as  if,  forsooth,  the  bread  alone,  without  the  promise, 
were  either  the  sacrament,  or  the  principal  part  of  a  sacrament."  p. 
434. 

"  There  is  then  in  the  Lord's  Supper  a  double  meat  and  drink.  One 
external,  visible  and  terrene,  namely,  bread  and  wine;  and  another 
internal.  There  is  also  a  double  eating  and  receiving ;  an  external  and 
signifying,  which  is  the  corporal  receiving  of  the  bread  and  wine ; 
that  is,  which  is  performed  by  the  hands,  mouth,  and  senses  of  the 
body ;  and  an  internal,  invisible,  and  signified,  which  is  the  fruition  of 
Christ's  death,  and  a  spiritual  ingrafting  into  Christ's  body;  that  is, 
which  is  not  performed  by  the  hands  and  mouth  of  the  body,  but  by 
the  spirit  and  faith.  Lastly,  there  is  a  double  administrator  and  dis- 
penser of  this  meat  and  drink;  an  external,  of  the  external,  which  is 
the  minister  of  the  church,  delivering  by  his  hand  the  bread  and 


92  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

wine ;  and  an  inlernal,  of  the  internal  meat,  which  is  Christ  himself, 
feeding  us  by  his  body  and  blood."  p.  470. 

"  As  therefore  the  body  of  Christ  signifieth  both  his  proper  and 
natural  body,  and  his  sacramental  body,  which  is  the  bread  of  the 
eucharist ;  so  the  eating  of  Christ's  body  is  of  two  sorts ;  one  sacra- 
mental, of  the  sign  to  wit,  the  external  and  corporal  receiving  of  the 
bread  and  wine ;  the  other  real  or  spiritual,  which  is  the  receiving  of 
Christ's  very  body  itself.  And  to  believe  in  Christ  dwelling  in  us 
by  faith,  is,  by  the  virtue  and  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  be  in- 
grafted into  his  body,  as  members  to  the  head  and  branches  into  the 
vine ;  and  so  to  be  made  partakers  of  the  fruit  of  the  death  and  life  of 
Christ.  Whence  it  is  apparent  that  they  are  falsely  accused  who 
thus  teach,  as  if  they  made  either  the  bare  si'gns  only  to  be  in  the 
Lord's  Supper,  or  a  participation  of  Christ's  death  only,  or  of  his 
benefits,  or  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  excluding  the  true,  real,  and  spiritual 
communion  of  the  very  body  of  Christ  itself."  p.  470,  471. 

In  an  appendix  to  this  part  of  the  work,  we  find  the  following 
brief  summary  of  the  leading  objections,  made  by  the  "  Consub- 
stantiaries,"  as  they  are  styled,  against  the  "sincere"  doctrine  of 
the  Lord's  Supper"  as  held  by  those  who  were  nicknamed  "  Sa- 
cramentaries,"  together  with  proper  answers. 

"  1st  Obj.  The  errors  of  the  Sacramentaries  are,  that  there  are  but 
bare  signs  and  symbols  only  in  the  Supper. 

r  "Ans.  We  teach  that  the  things  signified  are,  together  with  the 
signs  in  the  right  use  exhibited  and  communicated,  albeit  not  corpo- 
rally, but  in  such  sort  as  is  agreeable  unto  sacraments. 

"  2d  Obj.  The  Sacramentaries  say  that  Christ  is  present  only  according 
to  his  power  and  efficacy. 

"Ans.  We  teach  that  he  is  present  and  united  with  us  by  th'e  Holy 
Ghost,  albeit  his  body  be  far  absent  from  us ;  like  as  a  whole  Christ 
is  present  also  with  his  ministry,  though  diversely  according  to  the 
one  nature. 

"3d  Obj.  The  Sacramentaries  affirm  that  an  imaginary,  figurative, 
or  spiritual  body  is  present,  not  his  essential  body. 

"Ans.  We  never  spake  of  an  imaginary  body,  but  of  the  true  flesli 
of  Christ,  which  is  present  with  us,  although  it  remain  in  heaven. 
Moreover,  we  say  that  we  receive  the  bread  and  body,  but  both  after 
a  manner  proper  to  each. 

"  4th  Obj .  The  Sacramentaries  affirm,  that  the  true  body  of  Christ  which 
hung  on  the  cross,  and  his  very  blood  which  was  shed  for  us,  is  distributed 
and  is  spiritually  received  of  those  only  who  are  worthy  receivers  ;  as  for 
the  unworthy,  they  receive  nothing  besides  the  bare  signs,  to  their  own 
condemnation. 

"Ans.  All  this  we  grant,  as  being  agreeable  to  the  word  of  God, 
the  nature  of  sacraments,  the  analogy  of  faith,  and  the  communion  of 
the  faithful."— P.  472. 

In   conclusion,   a   statement  is  given  of  the  general   points 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORD's    SLTPER.  93 

"  wherein  the  churches  which  profess  the  gospel  agree  or  dis- 
agree in  the  controversy  concerning  tlie  Lord's  Supper."  Among 
ihc  points  of  agreement,  the  tliird  one  mentioned  is,  "  tliat  iu  the 
Supper  we  are  made  partakers  not  only  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
and  his  satisfaction,  justice,  virtue  and  operation,  but  also  of  the 
vtrif  essence  and  substance  of  his  true  body  and  bloody  which  was 
given  for  us  to  death  on  the  cross,  and  which  was  shed  for  us  ; 
and  are  truly  fed  with  the  self-same  unto  eternal  life:  and  that 
this  very  thing  Christ  should  teach  and  make  known  utito  us, 
by  this  visible  receiving  of  this  bread  and  wine  in  his  Supper." 
The  disagreement  is  represented  to  hold  in  the  three  following 
particulars. 

"  1.  That  one  part  contendeth  that  these  words  of  Christ,  This  is 
my  hndy^  must  be  understood  as  the  words  sound,  which  yet  that  part 
itself  doth  not  prove;  but  the  other  part,  that  those  words  must  be 
understood  sacramentally,  according  to  the  declaration  of  Christ  and 
Paul,  according  to  the  most  certain  and  infallible  rule  and  level  of  the 
articles  of  our  Christian  faith. 

"  2.  That  one  part  will  have  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  to  be 
essentially  in  or  with  the  bread  and  the  wine,  and  so  to  be  eaten  that 
together  with  the  bread  and  wine,  out  of  the  hand  of  the  minister,  it 
entereth  by  the  mouth  of  the  receivers  into  their  bodies;  but  the  other 
part  will  have  the  body  of  Christ,  which  in  the  first  Supper  sat  at  the 
table  by  the  disciples,  now  to  be  and  continue,  not  here  on  earth, 
but  above  in  the  heavens,  and  without  this  visible  world  and  heaven, 
until  he  descend  thence  again  to  judgment,  and  yet  that  we  notwith- 
standing here  on  earth,  as  oft  as  we  eat  this  bread  with  a  true  faith, 
are  so  fed  with  his  body,  and  made  to  drink  of  his  blood,  that  not 
only  through  his  passion  and  blood  shed,  we  are  cleansed  from  our 
sins,  but  are  also  in  such  sort  coupled,  knit,  and  incorporated  into  his 
true,  essential  human  body,  by  his  Spirit  dwelling  both  in  him  and 
us,  that  we  are  flesh  of  his  flesh,  and  bone  of  his  bones  ;  and  are  more 
nearly  and  firmly  knit  and  united  with  him  than  the  members  of  our 
body  are  united  with  our  head,  and  so  we  draw  and  have  in  him  and 
from  him  everlasting  life. 

"  3.  That  one  part  will  have  all,  whosoever  come  to  the  table  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  eat  and  drink  that  bread  and  wine,  whether  they 
be  believers  or  unbelievers,  to  eat  and  drink,  corporally  and  with  their 
bodily  mouth,  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ,  believers  to  life  and  sal- 
vation, unbelievers  to  damnation  and  death ;  the  other  holdeth,  that 
unbelievers  abuse  indeed  the  outward  signs,  bread  and  wine,  to  their 
damnation,  but  that  the  faithful  only  can  eat  and  drink,  by  a  true 
faith,  and  the  fore-alleged  working  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  unto  eternal  life."— P.  480. 

Calvin  himself  is  hardly  more  explicit,  in  the  statement  of  his 
own  doctrine.  We  seem  to  hear,  in  these  quotations,  the  very 
echo  of  the  words  to  which  we  have  already  listened  from  his 
lips.  It  is  the  testimony,  however,  of  Ursinus,  the  principal  au- 
thor of  the  Catechism  of  the  Palatinate,  speaking  ex  cathedra  of 


94 


THE    MYSTICAL    PREwSENCE. 


the  doctrine  it  was  supposed  to  contain.  Where  shall  we  find 
an  expositor  of  its  sense  more  worthy  to  be  trusted  and  be- 
lieved? 

Uospinimi. 

Omitting  all  other  testimony  that  might  still  be  brought  for- 
ward from  the  sixteenth  century  as  entirely  superfluous,  after 
what  has  been  already  exhibited,  I  present  finally  the  authority 
.  of  a  single  Helvetic  divine,  that  may  be  said  to  cover  at  once  the 
entire  period.  I  refer  to  Rudolph  Huspmian,  the  distinguished 
author  of  the  great  work  on  the  History  of  the  Sacrament.  His 
theological  life  was  passed  in  Zurich,  and  reached  from  the  year 
156S  some  distance  over  into  the  following  century.  His  sym- 
pathies are  all,  of  course,  with  the  Helvetic  Church.  His  whole 
work,  however,  in  the  case  of  the  sixteenth  century,  proceeds 
from  beginning  to  end  on  the  assumption  that  the  Reformed 
doctrine  of  the  eucharist  was  always,  from  the  very  first,  what  we 
have  found  it  to  be  in  the  authorities  already  quoted;  and  as 
such  not  only  conformable  to  the  view  of  Calvin,  but  in  harmony" 
even  with  the  proper  sense  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  itself,  at 
least  as  understood  by  Melancthon  and  a  large  part  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church.  He  refers  to  Calvin's  statements  always  with 
approbation,  as  a  true  representation  of  what  was  held  and 
taught  in  the  Reformed  communion ;  and  will  have  it,  that 
Zuingli  himself  inculcated,  in  all  substantial  respects,  the  very 
same  doctrine.  Altogether,  it  must  be  admitted  that  Hospinian 
is  wrong,  in  the  general  theory  on  which  his  work  is  constructed. 
But  this  does  not  affect,  of  course,  the  weight  of  his  testimony,  as 
it  regards  the  fact  with  which  we  are  now  concerned.  Nay,  it 
serves  only  to  render  it  the  more  worthy  of  attention.  His  work 
has  the  form  of  an  apology  for  the  sacramental  orthodoxy  of  the 
Helvetic  church,  while  the  standard  by  which  it  is  measured  is 
always  the  Calvinistic,  as  distinguished  from  the  Ubiquitarian 
view.  He  takes  it  for  granted,  that  this,  and  nothing  lower  than 
this,  was,  and  had  been  all  along,  the  true  and  proper  doctrine 
of  the  Reformed  Church ;  and  it  is  exhibited  accordingly  always 
under  this  view.  The  controversy  between  the  two  confessions 
is  with  him  one  that  relates,  not  to  the  question  of  fact,  as  it  re- 
gards the  power  of  the  sacraments,  but  only  to  the  question  of 
mode.  Thus,  in  speaking  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  he  gives 
the  article  on  the  eucharistic  presence,  as  presented  in  the  Wit- 
temberg  German  text  of  the  year  1531  ;  in  which  it  is  said,  "  that 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  truly  present,  and  loith  the 
bread  and  wine  distributed  to  them  that  eat,  in  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per:"  and   immediately  adds,   "These  words  contain  nothing 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LOUd's    SUPPER.  95 

contrary  to  oiir  view."  Afterwards  he  tells  us,  still  more  expli- 
citly :  "  Ours  do  not  reject  the  tenth  article  of  the  Augsburg- 
Confession,  in  its  sound,  true,  right,  pious,  and  catholic  sense, 
as  held  by  the  fathers,  and  all  the  true  Christian  saints  always 
in  the  Church  ;  namely,  that  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  along  with  the 
bread  and  -wine,  that  is,  while  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  body 
and  blood  is  received,  there  is  truly  exhibited  also  the  body  and 
blood  itself  of  the  Lord,  to  be  received  by  faith.  For  whilst  the 
ministers  distribute  the  sacrament  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  Christ  himself  communicates  himself  to  be  spiritually 
enjoyed,  that  the  pious  may  have  communion  with  him  and  live 
by  him."     Hosp.  Hist.  Sac.  Part  II.  p.  157,  158. 

The  Synod  of  Dort. 

This  venerable  body  was  convened  in  the  year  1618,  with 
reference  particularly  to  the  errors  introduced  by  Arminius. 
It  was  composed  of  delegates,  not  only  from  the  United  Pro- 
vinces, but  also  from  England,  Switzerland,  the  Palatinate, 
Hessia,  Nassau,  East  Friesland,  and  Bremen ;  forming  in  fact 
an  cECumenical  council  of  the  entire  Reformed  Church.  It  was 
not  called  of  course  to  express  any  direct  judgment  on  the 
sacramental  question.  It  may  be  said  to  have  done  this  indi- 
rectly however,  by  solemnly  endorsing  both  the  Belgic  Confes- 
sion and  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  as  true  and  faithful  exposi- 
tions in  full  of  the  general  faith  of  the  Church.  The  first 
having,  been  submitted  previously  to  a  particular  examination  on 
the  part  of  the  different  national  delegations,  was  unanimously 
approved  in  the  146th  session  ;  as  containing  nothing  at  variance 
with  the  word  of  God,  or  needing  in  any  way  to  be  changed. 
The  other  was  afterwards  laid  before  the  body,  with  the  request 
that  it  might  be  tried  in  the  same  way.  As  the  result,  a  decla- 
ration was  filed  in  the  name  of  all  present,  that  "  the  doctrine 
contained  in  the  Catechism  of  the  Palatinate  was  found  to  be 
conformable  at  all  points  to  the  word  of  God ;  that  there  was 
nothing  in  it  that  needed  in  this  view  to  be  changed  or  cor- 
rected; and  that  altogether  it  formed  a  most  accurate  compend 
of  the  orthodox  Christian  faith,  being  with  singular  skill  not 
only  adjusted  to  the  apprehension  of  tender  youth,  but  so  framed 
also  as  to  serve  the  purpose  of  instruction  at  the  same  time  in 
the  case  of  older  persons." — Acta  Syn.  Nat.  Dord.  Sess. 
I  CXLVIp.SQ2. 

Westminste?'  Confession. 

This  belongs  to  the   middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.     It 
has  a  different    character  in    some   respects,    from    that    which 


9G  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

distinguishes  the  older  confessions  of  the  Reformed  Church; 
the  result,  at  least  in  part,  of  the  Puritanic  principle,  under 
whose  influence,  in  some  measure,  it  was  formed.  This  in- 
volved from  the  beginning  a  tendency,  that  might  be  considered 
unfavourable  to  the  idea  of  the  objective  and  mystical  in  the  life 
of  the  Church,  as  it  prevailed  with  both  Protestant  confessions 
in  the  age  of  the  Reformation ;  and  which  has  since  in  fact  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  production  of  that  false  form  of  thinking, 
that  has  come  to  be  so  general,  at  the  present  time,  in  the  oppo- 
site direction.  But  notwithstanding  all  this,  the  doctrine  of  the 
real  presence,  in  the  form  now  under  consideration,  appears  here 
in  its  full  force.  The  testimony  of  course  is  only  of  secondary 
weight,  in  any  view,  as  compared  with  the  symbolical. authorities 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  to  which  we  have  already  referred. 
It  is  still  however  of  special  interest,  as  showing  how  deeply 
the  old  Calvinistic  cfoctrine  had  lodged  itself  in  the  heart  of 
the  Church;  and  how  full  and  distinct  must  have  been  its  pro- 
clamation in  the  beginning,  to  which  at  the  distance  of  a  hun- 
dred years,  so  clear  an  echo  at  least  is  still  returned,  from  the 
very  bosom  of  the  Puritan  Revolution  itself  Let  the  Confession 
speak  for  itself. 

"  Worthy  receivers,  outwardly  partaking  of  the  visible  elements  in 
this  sacrament,  do  then  inwardly  also  by  faith,  really  and  indeed,  yet 
not  carnally  and  corporally,  but  spiritually,  receive  and  feed  upon 
Christ  crucified  and  all  benefits  of  his  death ;  the  body  and  blood  of: 
Christ  being  then  not  corporally  or  carnally  in,  w^ith,  or  under  the 
bread  and  wine  ;  yet  as  really  but  spiritually  present  to  the  faith  of 
believers  in  that  ordinance,  as  the  elements  themselves  are  to  their 
outward  senses."  Chap.  29,  §  7. 

Compare  with  this,  as  confirming  and  illustrating  still  farther 
the  same  view,  the  following  questions  from  the  Larger  Cate- 
chism. 

"  Quest.   168.   What  is  the  Lord's  Supper? 

"Ans.  The  Lord's  Supper  is  a  sacrament  of  the  New  Testament,! 
wherein  by  giving  and  receiving  bread  and  wine,  according  to  tl 
appointment  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  death  is  showed  forth  ;  and  they  that 
worthily  communicate,  feed  upon  his  body  and  blood,  to  their  spiritual 
nourishment  and  growth  in  grace  ;  have  their  union  and  communion 
with  him  confirmed  ;  testify  and  renew  their  thankfulness  and  engage- 
ment to  God,  and  their  mutual  love  and  fellowship  with  each  other, 
as  members  of  the  same  mystical  body." 

^t      "Quest.   170.  How  do  they  that  worthily  communicate  in  the  Lui-d's 
Supper,  feed  upon  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  therein? 

"Ans.  As  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  not  corporally  or  car-* 
nally  present  in,  with,  or  under,  the  bread  and  wine  in  the  Lord's  Sup  ' 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORd's    SUPI'ER.  97 

per;  and  yet  are  spiritually  present  to  the  faith  of  the  receiver,  no  less 
truly  and  really  than  the  elements  themselves  are  to  their  outward 
senses  ;  so  they  that  worthily  communicate  in  the  sacrament  of  the 
iiord  s  J^upper,  do  therein  feed  upon  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  not 
attera  corporal  or  carnal,  but  in  a  spiritual  manner;  yet  truly  and 
really  while  by  faith  they  receive  and  apply  unto  themselves  Christ 
crucified,  and  all  the  benefits  of  his  death." 

This,  it  must  be  admitted,  is  not  entirely  free  from  ambiguity 
as  compared  with  the  language  of  the  sixteenth  century.    Taken 
by  itself,  it  might  be  held  to  mean  nothing  more  than  such  a  pre- 
sence of  Christ's  body  as  is  involved  in  the  \h'e\y  conception  of  it  in 
the  worshipper's  mind  ;  though  all  must  feel,  that  a  strange  abuse 
oi  language  would  be  employed,  in  that  case,  to  express  so  plain 
a  thought.  But  we  need  only  some  tolerable  familiarity  with  the 
v^alvinistic  theory  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  held  before  this  time 
m  the  Reformed  Church,  to  be  fully  satisfied  that  no  such  poor 
construction  as  that  now  mentioned  can  be  entitled  to  any  re- 
s^ct.     It  IS  not  simply  a  real  spiritual  presence   that  is  here 
attirmed  as  belonging  to  the  sacrament,  but  a  spiritual  real  pre- 
sence;   a  communication   by  faith  with   the   body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  which  involves  union  and  communion  with  his  person 
under  such  view,  and  on  the  ground  of  this  only,  a  full  interest  at 
the  same  time  in  all  the  benefits  of  his  death.  The  term  spiritual 
as  here  used,  it  must  always  be  borne  in   mind,  carries  in  it  no 
opposition  to  the  idea  of  substance;  nor  does  it  refer  to  the  per- 
son ot  Christ  simply  as  it  is  spirit,  and  not  body.     On  the  con- 
trary, it  has  regard  to  the  inmost   substance  of  his   body  itself 
All  imagination  of  a  material  intermingling  of  Christ's  flesh  with 
ours  IS  indeed  carefully  removed ;  but  it  is  only  to  assert  the  more 
positively  a  real  participation  in  the  true  life  of  his  flesh  as  such. 
Ihe  communion  is  with  the  Saviour's  body  and  blood   the  very 
essence  of  which  under  a  spiritual  form,  is  carried  over  into  the 
believer  s  person.     If  this  be  not  the  meaning  of  the  Westmin- 
ster Assembly;   if  in  the  use  of  language,  borrowed   here  so 
plainly  from  the  creed  of  Calvin  and  the  Reformed  Church  o-ene- 
rally  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Assembly  intended  to  si^nifyr 
alter  all  something  quite  different  from  that  creed,  a  mere  moral 
union  with  Christ  for  instance,  a  communication  with  him  in  his 
divine  nature  simply,  or  an  appropriation  only  of  the  merits  of 
h.s  life  and  death;   it  will  be  found  very  hard,  in  the  first  place 
to  put  any  intelligible  sense  whatever  into  their  words,  and  more 
difhcult  still,  in  the  second  place,  to  vindicate  the  interpretation 
as  worthy  either  of  their  wisdom  or  their  truth.* 

no'Iiri\?^Plf  ^'"?  f""  ^\^-  ^"^h^'-'ty  «^  the  several  Reformed  Confessions,  no 
C?anH  A?;^  ^'''^r'r'^.^n'^"  Thirty-n.ne  Articles  of  the  Church  of 
ii-ngland.    As  this  branch  of  the  Protestant  communion  is  considered  by  many 


98  THE    MYSTICAL   PRESENCE 


Hooker  and  Owen. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  be  allowed  to  refer  to  the  authority  ot 
two  of  the  most  eminent  English  divines,  who  lived  close  upon 
the  age  of  the  Reformation,  and  who  may  be  taken  as  the  most 
prominent  representatives  of  the  two  great  contrary  tendencies, 
which  the  Reformed  Church  may  be  said  to  have  involved  in  its 
constitution  from  the  very  start.  Hooker  and  Owen !  How  dif- 
ferent in  their  whole  spiritual  conformation,  and  yet  how  closely 
bound  together,  notwithstanding,  in  the  last  ground  of  their  reli- 
gious life.  The  one  stands  forth  to  our  view,  the  deeply  earnest, 
most  learned  and  most  indefatigable  champion,  of  all  that  is  com- 
prehended in  the  idea  of  the  Church.  The  other  is  known  as 
the  no  less  indefatigable  champion  of  all  that  is  included  in  the 
idea  of  religious  //-e^.Y/om  and  individual  ves\>on?,\h\\\\.y.  Hooker 
is  the  great  ornament  of  the  English  Episcopacy.  Owen  has 
been  styled  the  prince,  the  oracle,  and  the  metropolitan  of  the 
English  Independency  and  Puritanism,  The  one  belongs  to 
the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century;  the  other  flourished  amid  the 
revolutionary  storms  of  the  period  that  followed.  1  refer  to  them 
both  as  witnesses  merely,  not  as  sources  of  authority  in  them- 
selves. Hooker  was  an  Episcopalian,  with  high  views  of  the 
Church;  but,  as  a  man  of  learning,  he  must  be  supposed  to  have 
understood  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformed  Church,  as  it  stood  in 
his   own   time.     Owen  was  a   Puritan,  with  low  views   of  the 

to  be  somewhat  tainted,  in  its  very  constitution,  with  the  errors  of  Rome,  it 
seemed  best  not  to  lay  much  stress  upon  its  testimony  in  the  present  discus- 
sion. It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  what  may  be  styled  the  high  sacrameiital 
doctrine,  is  not  put  forward  with  any  special  prominence  in  the  teachings  of 
this  Church,  as  compared  with  the  view  held  by  the  Reformed  Church  gene- 
rally in  the  sixteenth  century.  We  find  the  doctrine,  indeed,  clearly  pro- 
claimed. How  could  it  be  otherwise,  in  the  period  to  which  we  refer  ? 
"  Sacraments  ordained  of  Christ,"  it  is  said,  "  be  certain  sure  witnesses  and 
effectual  signs  of  grace,  and  God's  good  will  towards  us,  hy  the  which  he  doth 
work  invisil)ly  in  us,  and  doth  not  only  quicken,  but  also  strengthen  and  con- 
firm our  faith  in  him."  Art.  xxv.  Though  only  after  an  heavenly  and  spirit- 
ual manner,  as  distinguished  from  a  mere  corporeal  eating,  still  "  the  body  of 
Christ  is  given,  taken  and  eaten  in  the  Supper."  Art.  xxviii.  So  in  the  Com- 
munion Service,  believers  in  receiving  the  elements  are  represented  as  partak- 
ing of  Christ's  most  blessed  body  and  blood,  at  the  same  time.  Undoubtedly 
the  doctrine  of  the  real  presence  of  Christ  by  the  Spirit,  in  the  Holy  Eucharist, 
is  plainly  taught  by  the  English  Church  ;  and  it  is  only  strange  that  any  question 
should  ever  be  made  with  regard  to  the  point,  in  the  Church  itself.  ]iut  it  is  no 
less  certain,  that  it  has  no  claim  to  bo  considered  a  distinctively  Episcopal 
doctrine,  so  far  at  least  as  the  past  history  of  the  Reformed  C+iurch  is  con- 
cerned, in  any  sense.  Among  all  the  early  Reformed  ^Confessions,  there  is 
hardly  one  in  which  it  is  not  even  more  distinctly  affirmed  than  it  is  in  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles.  The  Confession  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  in 
particular,  is  decidedly  more  high-toned  here  than  the  formulary  of  the  Church 
of  England  ;  and  we  may  say  as  much  also  even  of  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion itself. 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORd's    SUITER.  99 

Church;  but  this  only  serves  to  render  the  more  striking  his  re- 
sponse to  the  same  truth,  in  a  case  where  its  last  echo  has  ceased 
to  be  heard  with  the  Puritans  of  a  later  day. 

The  following  passages  are  extracted  from  Hooker's  great 
work,  the  Ecclesiastical  Polity. 

"  It  is  too  cold  an  interpretation,  whereby  some  men  expound  our 
being  in  Christ,  to  import  nothing  else,  but  only  that  the  self-same 
nature  which  maketh  us  to  be  men,  is  in  him,  and  maketh  him  man 
as  we  are.  For  what  man  in  the  world  is  there,  which  hath  not  so 
far  forth  communion  with  .Tesus  Christ "?  It  is  not  this  that  can  sus- 
tain the  weight  of  such  sentences  as  speak  of  the  mystery  of  our  co- 
herence with  .Tesus  Christ.  The  Church  is  in  Christ  as  Eve  was  in 
Adam.  Yea,  by  grace,  we  are  every  of  us  in  Christ  and  in  his 
Church,  as  by  nature  we  are  in  those  our  first  parents.  God  made 
Eve  of  the  rib  of  Adam.  And  his  Church  he  frameth  out  of  the  very 
flesh,  the  very  wounded  and  bleeding  side  of  the  Son  of  man.  His 
body  crucified  and  his  blood  shed  for  the  life  of  the  world,  are  the 
true  elements  of  that  heavenly  being,  which  maketh  us  such  as  him- 
self is  of  whom  we  come.  For  which  cause  the  words  of  Adam  may 
be  fitly  the  words  of  Christ  concerning  his  Church,  '  flesh  of  my  flesh, 
and  bone  of  my  bones,'  a  true  native  extract  out  of  mine  own  body. 
So  that  in  him  even  according  to  his  manhood,  we  according  to  our 
heavenly  being,  are  as  branches  in  that  root  out  of  which  they  grow." 
Book  V.  chap.  Ivi.  §  7. 

"These  things  St.  Cyril  duly  considering  reproveth  their  speeches, 
which  taught  that  only  the  deity  of  Christ  is  the  vine  whereupon  we 
by  faith  do  depend  as  branches,  and  that  neither  his  flesh  nor  our 
bodies  are  comprised  in  this  resemblance.  For  doth  any  man  doubt, 
but  that  even  from  the  flesh  of  Christ  our  very  bodies  do  receive  that 
life  which  shall  make  them  glorious  at  the  latter  day,  and  for  which 
they  are  already  accounted  parts  of  his  blessed  body  1  Our  corrupti- 
ble bodies  could  never  live  the  life  they  shall  live,  were  it  not  that 
here  they  are  joined  with  his  body  which  is  incorruptible,  and  that 
his  is  in  ours  as  a  cause  of  immortality,  a  cause  by  removing  through 
the  death  and  merit  of  his  own  flesh  that  which  hindered  the  life  of 
ours.  Christ  is  therefore,  both  as  God  and  as  man,  that  true  vine, 
whereof  we  both  spiritually  and  corporally  are  true  branches.  The 
mixture  of  his  bodily  substance  with  ours  is  a  thing  which  the  ancient 
Fathers  disclaim.  Yet  the  mixture  of  his  flesh  with  ours,  they  speak 
of,  to  signify  what  our  very  bodies,  through  mystical  conjunction, 
receive  from  that  vital  efficacy  which  we  know  to  be  in  his  ;  and  from 
bodily  mixtures  they  borrow  divers  similitudes  rather  to  declare  the 
truth  than  the  manner  of  coherence  between  his  sacred  and  the  sancti- 
fied bodies  of  saints."  B.  V.  c.  Ivi.  §  9. 

"  This  was  it  that  some  did  exceedingly  fear,  lest  Zuinglius  and 
(Ecolampadius  would  bring  to  pass,  that  men  should  account  of  this 
sacrament  but  only  as  of  a  shadow,  destitute,  empty,  and^  void  of 
Christ.  But  seeing  that  by  opening  the  several  opinions  which  have 
been  held,  they  are  grown  for  aught  I  can  see  on  all  sides  at  the  length 
to  a  general  agreement  concerning  that  which  alone  is  material,  namely 
the  real  participation  of  Christ,  and  of  life  in  his  body  and  blood  bi/ 


100 


Tin:    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE, 


'mea?is  nf  Ikis  sacrament ,-  wherefore  should  the  world  continue  still  dis- 
tracted and  rent  with  so  manifold  contentions,  when  there  remaineth 
now  no  controversy  saving-  only  about  the  subject  where  Christ  is  1 
Yea,  even  in  this  point  no  side  donieth  but  that  the  soul  of  man  is  the 
receptacle  of  Christ's  presence.  Whereby  the  question  is  yet  driven 
to  a  narrower  issue,  nor  doth  any  thin«-  rest  doubtful  but  this,  whether 
when  the  sacrament  is  administered  Christ  be  whole  wUhin  man  only^ 
or  else  his  body  and  blood  be  also  externally  seated  in  the  very  con- 
secrated elements  then) selves  ;  which  opinion  they  that  defend,  are 
driven  either  to. cons«6s/«7;//a/e  and  incorporate  Christ  with  elements 
sacramental,  or  to  trajisiibstanliate  and  chang-e  their  substance' into  his; 
and  so  the  one  to  hold  him  really  but  invisibly  moulded  up  with  the 
substance  of  those  elements,  the  other  to  hide  him  under  tlie  only 
visible  shov/  of  bread  and  wine,  the  substance  whereof,  as  they  ima- 
gine, is  abolished,  and  his  succeeded  in  the  same  room."  B.  V.  c. 
Ixvii.  §  2. 

"  It  is  on  all  sides  plainly  confessed,  first,  that  this  sacrament  is  a 
true  and  a  real  participation  of  Christ,  who  tliereby  imparteth  himself, 
even  his  whole  entire  person  as  a  mystical  Head  unto  every  soul  that 
receiveth  him,  and  that  every  such  receiver  doth  incorporate  or  unite 
himself  unto  Christ  as  a  mystical  member  of  him,  yea  of  them  also 
whom  he  acknowledg-eth  to  be  his  own ;  secondly,  that  to  whom  the 
person  of  Christ  is  thus  communicated,  to  them  he  giveth  by  the  same 
sacrament  his  Holy  Spirit  to  sanctify  them  as  it  sanctifieth  him  which 
is  their  head  ;  thirdly,  that  what  77ierif,  force,  or  virtue  soever  there  is 
in  his  sacrificed  body  and  blood,  we  freely,  fully,  and  wholly  have  it  by 
this  sacrament ;  fourthly,  that  the  ejfect  there' f  in  us  is  a  real  transmu- 
tation of  our  souls  a7id  bodies  from  sin  to  righteousness,  from  death  and 
corruption  to  immortality  and  life ;  fifthly,  that  because  the  sacrament 
being  of  itself  but  a  corruptible  and  earthly  creature,  must  needs  be 
thought  an  unlikely  instrument  to  work  so  admirable  effects  in  man, 
we  are  therefore  to  rest  ourselves  altogether  upon  the  slreni^th  of  his 
glorious  power,  who  is  able  and  will  bring  to  pass  that  the  bread  and 
cup  which  he  giveth  us  shall  be  truly  the  thing  he  promisettr.  ^ 

"  It  seemeth  therefore  much  amiss  that  against  them  whom  they 
term  Sacramentaries,  so  many  invective  discourses  are  made,  all  run- 
ning upon  two  points,  that  the  Eucharist  is  not  a  bare  sign  or  figure 
only,  and  that  the  eflicacy  of  his  body  and  blood  is  not  all  we  receive 
in  this  sacrament.  For  no  man  having  read  their  books  and  writings 
which  are  thus  traduced,  can  be  ignorant  that  both  these  assertions 
they  plainly  confess  to  be  most  true.  They  do  not  so  interpret  the 
words  of  Christ,  as  if  the  name  of  his  body  did  import  but  the  figure 
of  his  body,  and  to  be  were  only  to  signify  his  blood.  They  grant 
that  these  holy  mysteries  received  in  due  manner  do  instrumentally 
both  make  us  partakers  of  the  grace  of  that  body  and  blood  which 
were  given  for  the  life  of  the  world,  and  besides  also  impart  unto  us 
even  in  true  and  real  though  mystical  manner  the  very  person  of  our 
Lord  himself,  whole,  perfect,  and  entire,  as  hath  been  showed."  B. 
V.  c.  Ixvii.  §  7,  8. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  Dr.  Owen.  It  is  easy  to  feel  ourselves  in 
a  different  element  here,  from  that  which  formed  the  inward  life 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORD's    SUPPER.  101 

of  Hooker.  The  whole  system  of  the  great  nonconformist  tended 
to  carry  him  towards  an  incorporeal  spiritualism  in  religion,  that 
might  be  counted  particularly  unfavourable  to  a  right  estimate 
of  the  sacraments.  Still,  however,  when  we  contrast  his  lan- 
guage with  the  frigid,  rationalistic  style  in  which  the  same  sys- 
tem is  accustomed  to  express  itself  on  this  subject  at  the  present 
day,  we  can  hardly  fail  to  be  surprised  with  the  difference.  The 
following  passages  are  taken  from  his/'  Sacramental  Discourses," 
as  contained  in  Vol.  XVII.  of  his  Works,  Russel's  London 
edition. 

"  Christ  is  present  with  us  in  an  especial  manner  in  this  ordinance. 
One  of  the  greatest  engines  that  ever  the  devil  made  use  of  to  over- 
throw the  faith  of  the  Church,  was  by  forging  such  a  presence  of 
Christ  as  is  not  truly  in  this  ordinance,  to  drive  us  off  from  looking 
after  that  presence  which  is  true.  I  look  upon  it  as  one  of  the  great- 
est engines  that  ever  hell  set  on  work.  It  is  not  a  corporeal  presence ; 
there  are  innumerable  arguments  against  that;  every  thing  that  is  in 
sense,  reason,  and  the  faith  of  a  man,  overthrows  that  corporeal  pre- 
sence."— "  Christ  is  present  in  this  ordinance  in  an  especial  manner 
in  three  ways  :  by  representation  ;  by  exhibition  ;  by  obsignation  or 
sealing."     Disc.  x.  p.  209,  210. 

"  Christ  is  present  with  us  by  w^ay  of  exhibition,-  that  is,  he  doth 
really  tender  and  exhibit  himself  unto  the  souls  of  believers  in  this 
ordinance,  which  the  world  hath  lost,  and  knows  not  what  to  make 
of  it.  They  exhibit  that  which  they  do  not  contain.  This  bread  doth 
not  contain  the  body  of  Christ,  or  the  flesh  of  Christ ;  the  cup  doth  not 
contain  the  blood  of  Christ ;  but  they  exhibit  them  ;  both  do  as  really 
exhibit  them  to  believers,  as  they  partake  of  the  outward  signs.  Cer- 
tainly we  believe  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  doth  not  invite  us  unto 
this  table  for  the  bread  that  perishes,  for  outward  food ;  it  is  to  feed 
our  souls.  What  do  we  think  then  1  doth  he  invite  us  unto  an 
empty,  painted  feast  ]  do  we  deal  so  with  our  friends  1  Here  is  some- 
thing really  exhibited  by  Jesus  Christ  unto  us  to  receive,  beside  the 
outward  pledges  of  bread  and  wine.  We  must  not  think  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  deludes  our  souls  with  empty  show-s  and  appearances. 
That  which  is  exhibited  is  himself,  it  is  his  '  flesh  as  meat  indeed, 
and  his  blood  as  drink  indeed  ;'  it  is  himself  as  broken  and  crucified 
that  he  exhibits  unto  us." — "  Christ  doth  exhibit  himself  unto  our 
souls,  if  we  are  not  wanting  unto  ourselves,  for  these  two  things, 
incorporation  and  nourishment;  to  be  received  into  union;  and  to 
give  strength  unto  our  souls."     lb.  p.  211,  212. 

"  As  it  is  plain  from  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  that  there  is  a 
grant,  or  a  real  communication  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  the  souls  of  them 
that  believe,  so  it  is  evident  from  the  nature  of  the  exercise  of  faith  in 
this  ordinance  ;  it  is  by  eating  and  drinking.  Can  you  eat  and  drink 
unless  something  be  really  communicated  1  You  are  called  to  eat  the 
flesh  and  drink  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  Man  ;  unless  really  commu- 
nicated, we  cannot  eat  it  nor  drink  it.  We  may  have  other  apprehen- 
sions of  these  things,  but  our  feith  cannot  be  exercised  in  eating  and 

9* 


102  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

drinking,  which  is  a  receiving  of  what  is  really  exhibited  and  com- 
municated. As  truly  my  brethren  as  we  do  eat  of  this  bread  and 
drink  of  this  cup,  which  is  really  communicated  to  us,  so  every  true^ 
believer  doth  receive  Christ,  his  body  and  blood,  in  all  the  benefits 
of  it,  that  are  really  exhibited  by  God  unto  the  soul  in  this  ordinance, 
and  it  is  a  means  of  communicating  to  faith."     Disc,  xxiii.  p.  265. 

"  It  is  a  common  received  notion  among  Christians,  and  it  is  true, 
that  there  is  a  peculiar  communion  with  Christ  in  this  ordinance, 
which  we  have  in  no  other  ordinance  ;  that  there  is  a  peculiar  acting 
of  faith  in  this  ordinance  which  is  in  no  other  ordinance.  This  is 
the  faith  of  the  whole  Church  of  Christ,  and  has  been  so  in  all  ages. 
This  is  the  greatest  mystery  of  all  the  practicals  of  our  Christian  re- 
licrion,  a  way  of  receiving  Christ  by  eating  and  drinking,  something 
peculiar  that  is  not  in  prayer,  that  is  not  in  the  hearing  of  the  word, 
nor  in  any  other  part  of  divine  worship  whatsoever  ;  a  peculiar  partici- 
pation of  Christ,  a  peculiar  acting  of  faith  towards  Christ.  This  par- 
ticipation of  Christ  is  not  carnal,  but  spiritual.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  ministry  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when  he  began  to  instruct 
them  in  the  communication  of  himself,  and  the  benefit  of  his  media- 
tion, to  believers,  because  it  was  a  new  thing,  he  expresses  it  by  eat- 
ing his  'flesh  and  drinking  his  blood,  John  vi.  53,  '  Unless  ye  eat  the 
flesh  and  drink  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  man,  ye  have  no  life  in  you.' 
This  offended  and  amazed  them.  They  thought  he  taught  them  to 
eat  his  natural  flesh  and  blood.  '  How  can  this  man  give  us  his  flesh 
to  eat  ]'  They  thought  he  instructed  them  to  be  cannibals.  Where- 
upon he  gives  that  everlasting  rule  for  the  guidance  of  the  Church, 
which  the  Church  forsook,  and  thereby  ruined  itself;  saith  he,  '  It  is 
the  Spirit  that  quickens  ;  the  flesh  profits  nothing.  The  words  that  I 
speak,  they  are  spirit,  and  they  are  life.'  It  is  a  spiritual  communi- 
cation, saith  he,  of  myself  unto  you  ;  but  it  is  as  intimate,  and  gives 
as  real  an  incorporation,  as  if  you  did  eat  my  flesh  and  drink  my 
blood." — Disc.  xxY.  p.  2G8. 

"  The  fourth  thing  is  the  mi/steriousness,  which  I  leave  to  your  ex- 
perience, for  it  is  beyond  expression,  the  mysterious  reception  of 
Christ  in  this  peculiar  way  of  exhibition.  There  is  a  reception  of 
Christ  as  tendered  in  the  promise  of  the  Gospel,  but  here  is  a  peculiar 
way  of  his  exhibition  under  outward  signs,  and  a  mysterious  recep- 
tion of  him  in  them  really,  so  as  to  come  to  a  real  substantial  incor- 
poration in  our  souls."     Ih.  p.  270. 

All  this,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  not  without  some  measure  of 
ambiguity,  as  it  regards  a  real  participation  in  the  substance  of 
Christ's  humanity.  It  falls  short  altogether  of  the  firm,  clear 
utterances  of  Calvin  and  the  Church  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
But  it  is  full  of  force  from  such  a  man  as  Owen,  in  the  age  of 
Cromwell  and  the  English  Commonwealth.  Here  we  have  at 
least,  in  strong  terms,  the  sense  of  an  objective  force,  a  true  ex- 
hibition of  the  thing  signified,  in  the  sacrament.  The  commu- 
nion, moreover,  is  specific,  mystical,  bound  to  the  ordinance 
as  its  medium  and  instrument.     Then  it  involves  a  real  incor- 


CALVINISTIC    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    LORD's    SUPPER.  103 

poration  into  Christ;  and  it  is  plainly  felt,  that  this  includes  a 
special  respect  to  his  human  nature,  his  flesh  and  blood,  as  given 
for  the  life  of  the  world.  But  just  at  this  point  the  representa- 
tion is  found  to  waver.  The  truth  that  struggles  for  utterance, 
is  still  embarrassed  by  the  abstractions  of  the  understanding,  and 
is  not  permitted  to  come  to  a  full,  unfaltering  expression. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  MODERN  PURITAN  THEORY. 

SECTION  I. 

HISTORICAL    EXHIBITION. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  tlie  view  generally  entertained  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  at  the  present  time,  in  the  Protestant  Church,  in- 
volves a  wide  departure  from  the  faith  of  the  sixteenth  century 
with  regard  to  the  same  subject.  The  fact  must  be  at  once  clear 
to  every  one  at  all  familiar  with  the  religious  world  as  it  now 
exists,  as  soon  as  he  is  made  to  understand  in  any  measure  the 
actual  form  in  which  the  sacramental  doctrine  was  held  in  the 
period  just  mentioned. 

This  falling  away  from  the  creed  of  the  Reformation  is  not 
confined  to  any  particular  country  or  religious  confession.  It 
has  been  most  broadly  displayed  among  the  continental  churches 
of  Europe,  in  the  form  of  that  open,  rampant  rationalism,  which  has 
there  to  so  great  an  extent  triumphed  over  the  old  orthodoxy  at  so 
many  other  points.  But  it  is  found  widely  prevalent  also  in  Great 
Britain  and  in  this  country.  It  is  especially  striking,  of  course, 
as  has  been  already  remarked,  in  the  case  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
which  was  distinguished  from  the  other  Protestant  confession,  in 
the  beginning,  mainly  by  its  high  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
the  zeal  it  showed  in  opposition  to  what  it  stigmatized  reproach- 
fully as  sacramentarian  error.  In  this  respect,  it  can  hardly  be 
recognized  indeed  as  the  same  communion.  The  original  name  re- 
mains, but  the  original  distinctive  character  is  gone.  Particularly 
is  this  the  case,  with  a  large  part  at  least,  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
i  in  our  own  country.  We  cannot  say  of  it  simply,  that  it  has 
been  led  to  moderate  the  old  sacramental  doctrine  of  the  church, 
as  exhibited  in  the  Form  of  Concord ;  it  has  abandoned  the  doc- 
trine altogether.  Not  only  is  the  true  Lutheran  position,  as  oc- 
cupied so  violently  against  the  Calvinists  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
openly  and  fully  renounced ;  but  the  Calvinistic  ground  itself, 
then  shunned  with  so  much  horror  as  the  very  threshold  of  in- 
fidelity, has  come  to  be  considered  as  also  in  unsafe  contiguity 


106  THE    MYSTICAL    rRE.SENCE. 

with  Rome.  With  no  denomination  do  we  find  tlie  anti-mystical 
tendency,  usually  charged  upon  the  Reformed  Church,  more  de- 
cidedly developed.  Methodism  itself  can  hardly  be  said  to  make 
less  account  of  the  sacraments,  practically  or  theoretically.  A 
strange  contradiction  surely,  which,  we  may  trust,  is  not  des- 
tined always  to  endure.  For  it  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  such 
an  utter  abandonment  of  the  Lutheran  principle  in  the  case  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  can  be  confined  to  this  single  point.  Cen- 
tral as  the  doctrine  of  the  sacrament  is  to  the  whole  Christian 
system,  (so  felt  to  be  especially  by  Luther,)  such  a  change  neces- 
sarily implies  a  change  that  extends  much  farther.  The  whole 
life  of  the  Church,  in  these  circumstances,  must  be  brought  into 
contradiction  to  its  own  proper  principle.  It  cannot  be  true  to 
itself.  This  of  course  we  regard  as  a  fit  subject  for  lamentation. 
Never  was  there  a  time  when  it  was  more  important,  that  this 
Church  should  understand  and  fulfil  her  own  mission;  and  in  no 
part  of  the  world  perhaps  is  this  more  needed  than  just  here  in 
America,  where  the  tendency  to  undervalue  all  that  is  sacra- 
mental and  objective  in  religion,  has  become  unhappily  so 
strong.* 

*  It  is  not  intended,  of  course,  to  involve  all  connected  with  the  Church, 
indiscriminately,  in  this  censure.  There  are  many  excellent  men  belonging 
to  it,  no  doubt,  who  feel  and  deplore  the  very  evil  which  is  here  brought  into 
view;  and  it  is  to  be  trusted,  that  these  will  yet  cause  their  influence  to  lie 
felt,  in  such  a  way  as  to  roll  off  at  last,  in  some  measure  at  least,  the  reproach 
now  resting  upon  the  Church.  For  that  room  exists  in  fact  for  this  reproach, 
cannot  be  seriously  questioned  by  any  one  acquainted  with  the  religious  pos- 
ture of  the  country,  and  it  cannot  be  taken  amiss  therefore  that  it  should  be 
noticed  in  this  public  way.  It  is  notorious  that  the  American  Lutheran 
Church,  under  its  principal  and  most  influential  exhibition  at  least,  has  given 
up  altogether  the  sacramental  doctrine  of  Luther,  and  along  with  this,  (for  the 
two  things  can-never  be  sundered,)  the  original  genius  and  life  of  the  Lutheran 
^  Confession.  It  is  regarded  by  others  as  an  evangelical  ijnp7-ovement  in  the 
^  character  and  state  of  the  Church,  that  it  has  become  in  this  respect  hopefully 
^  conformed  to  what  may  be  styled  the  Modern  Puritan  theory  of  religion,  with 
a  strong  inclination  even  to  Methodism  ;  and  the  same  idea  would  seem  to  be  j 
very  extensively  entertained  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church  itself.  We  have  a  right 
to  take  the  so  called  Lutheran  Observer,  as  an  index  of  the  prevailing  tone  of 
thinking  in  the  Church,  in  this  case.  It  is  not,  indeed,  strictly  speaking,  under 
any  ecclesiastical  direction  and  control.  The  editor's  responsibilities  are  all 
his  own.  Still,  however,  the  more  fact  that  the  paper  is  allowed  to  represent 
the  Church  before  the  world,  constitutes  it  properly  the  organ  of  the  body, 
and  the  accredited  interpreter  of  its  views.  But  now  the  Observer,  besides 
being  characteristically  un-Lutheran  in  other  respects,  openly  derides  the 
whole  idea  of  a  real  communion  with  the  humanity  of  Christ  as  an  exploded 
superstition  !  Thus,  for  instance,  referring  to  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic 
view  as  asserted  at  Mcrcersburg,  the  editor  does  not  hesitate,  in  his  paper  of 
Dec.  5,  1845,  to  use  such  language  as  the  following:  "Dr.  N.'s  doctrine  of 
Con-corporation,  alias  his  semi-Ilomanism  in  relation  to  the  Eucharist." — "The 
Mercersburg  efl'ort  to  revive  the  errors  of  by-gone  ages,  from  which  it  was 
fondly  hoped  our  American  Churclies  had  finally  and  forever  escaped." — • 
"  That  figment  of  the  imagination,  that  poor,  low,  mystical,  confused,  carnal 
and  antiquated  doctrine,  yclept  con-corporation  !  Only  think  of  it — the  literal 
communication  of  Christ's  glorified  humanity  to  the  believer,  thus  confound- 


MODERN    PURITAN    THEORY.  107 

But  it  is  not  the  Lutheran  Church  only,  which  has  fallen 
away  from  its  original  creed,  in  the  case  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
Though  the  defection  may  not  be  so  immediately  palpable  and 
open  to  all  observation,  it  exists  with  equal  certainty,  as  was 
said  before,  on  the  part  of  the  Reformed  Church.  It  does  so  for 
the  most  part  iu  Europe;  and  in  this  country  the  case  is,  to  say 
the  least,  no  better.  Our  sect  system  must  be  considered,  in  its 
very  nature,  unfavourable  to  all  proper  respect  for  the  sacraments. 
This  may  be  taken,  indeed,  as  a  just  criterion  of  the  spirit  of 
sect,  as  distinguished  from  the  true  spirit  of  the  Christian  church. 
In  proportion  as  the  sect  character  prevails,  it  will  be  found  that 
Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  are  looked  upon  as  mere  out- 
ward signs,  in  the  case  of  which  all  proper  efficacy  is  supposed 
to  be  previously  at  hand  in  the  inward  state  of  the  subject  by 
whom  they  are  received.  It  is  this  feeling  which  leads  so  gene- 
rally to  the  rejection  of  infant  baptism,  on  the  part  of  those  who 
affect  to  improve  our  Christianity  in  the  way  of  new  schisms. 
It  is  particularly  significant,  moreover,  in  the  aspect  now  con- 
sidered, that  the  Baptist  body,  as  such,  is  numerically  stronger 
than  any  other  denomination  in  the  country.  But  the  haptistic 
principle  prevails  more  extensively  still ;  for  it  is  very  plain  that 
all  true  sense  of  the  sacramental  value  of  baptism  is  wanting,  in 
large  portions  of  the  church,  where  the  ordinance  is  still  re- 
tained ;  and  the  consequence  is,  that  it  is  employed  to  the  same 
extent  as  a  merely  outward  and  traditional  form.  Along  with 
this,  of  course,  must  prevail  an  unsacramental  feeling  generally, 
by  which  the  Lord's  Supper  also  is  shorn  of  all  its  significance 
and  power.  Methodism,  in  this  way,  may  be  said  to  wrong  the 
sacraments,  (as  also  the  entire  idea  of  the  Church,)  almost  as 
seriously  as  the  Baptist  system  itself  The  general  evil,  how-  Z 
ever,  reaches  still  farther.  Even  those  denominations  among 
us  which  represent  the  Reformed  Church  by  true  and  legitimate 

ing  the  natures  of  believers  and  of  Christ,  and  actually  predicating  ubiquity 
of  humanity!  The  glorified  body  of  Christ  received  by  the  believer  with  the 
bread  and  wine!  If  this  be  not  a  corporeal  presence,  what  meaning  is  there 
in  language?  if  this  is  not  equal  to  Puseyism,  and  an  immense  stride  toward 
Romanism,  we  would  like  to  know  what  is?" — "It  grates  upon  the  ear,  jars 
the  feelings,  oftends  the  understanding,  and  unhinges  the  holiest  associations 
of  many  of  the  best  and  most  spiritual  [sic  I\  men,  in  the  most  evangelic 
churches.'- — Such  is  the  style  in  which,  not  the  old  Lutheran,  but  the  old 
Reformed  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  is  profiinely  abused  by  the  principal 
paper  in  the  present  American  Lutheran  Church  !  Multitudes  in  that  Church, 
'  of  course,  have  been  pained  and  mortified  by  such  bare-faced  ecclesiastical 
infidelity.  They  disclaim  all  sympathy  with  it  in  their  hearts,  and  protest 
against  it  quietly  as  downright  treason  to  all  true  Lutheranism.  Still,  the 
paper  is  endured",  as  the  organ,  in  fact,  of  the  Church;  and  until  something 
more  eftectual  than  a  mere  silent  protest  is  exhibited,  we  must  mourn  over  the 
Church  itself  as  being,  it  is  to  be  feared,  but  too  faithfully  represented  by  the 
so-called  Lutheran  Observer. 


108 


THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


descent,  such  as  the  Presbyterian  in  its  different  branches,  and 
the  Reformed  Dutch,  show  plainly  that  they  have  fallen  away, 
to  some  extent,  from  the  original  faith  of  the  church,  in  the  same 
direction.  Remains  of  it  indeed  may  still  be  found  in  the  pri- 
vate piety  of  many,  the  result,  in  part,  of  their  special  advantage 
in  the  way  of  early  traditional  education,  and  in  part  the  product 
of  their  own  religious  life  itself;*  but,  so  far  as  the  general 
reigning  belief  is  concerned,  the  old  doctrine  may  be  said  to  be 
fairly  suppressed  by  one  of  a  different  character.  It  is  so  theo- 
retically, to  a  great  extent,  in  our  systems  of  theology,  biblical 
expositions,  sermons,  and  religious  teaching  generally,  so  far  as 
the  sacramental  question  is  concerned.  It  is  so  practically,  to 
an  equal  extent,  in  the  corresponding  views  and  feelings  with 

*  There  is  much  comfort  in  this  thought.  The  same  reflection,  only  in 
somewhat  stronger  terms,  is  made  by  Prof.  Tayler  Lewis,  of  New  York,  in 
liis  admirable  article  on  the  Church  Question,  published  in  the  Bib.  Repository, 
for  Jan.,  1816.  The  idea  of  tlie  mystical  union,  he  says  correctly,  is,  and  ever 
must  be,  a  living  principle  in  the  hearts  of  all  evangelical  Christians.  lie 
appeals,  accordingly,  to  the  devotional  books  of  the  Scottish  Church,  and  even 
to  the  common  jjhrascology  of  Wesleyan  prayer  meetings,  as  serving  to  show 
a  more  active  sense  of  the  truth  itself  in  the  form  of  life,  than  is  to  be  found 
under  all  the  outward  display  which  may  be  made  of  the  tenet  by  Rome  or 
Oxford,  as  a  dead  relic  of  antiquity.  "  The  life  may  be  stronger  than  the 
dogma.  Even  in  the  absence  of  definite  conceptions,  the  extreme  fondness 
of  a  certain  class  of  minds  for  this  language,  manifests  the  current  of  the 
affections  in  distinction  from  the  speculative  views  maintained,  and  a  con- 
sciousness, that  even  if  there  be  a  figure,  it  is  figurative  of  a  reality  more  pre- 
cious and  glorious  than  was  ever  set  forth  in  any  form  of  rationalism."  This 
is  very  true.  Dr.  Lewis,  however,  himself  admits,  that  there  has  been  a  great 
falling  away  on  the  part  of  the  Church  at  large,  from  the  faith  of  the  Refor- 
malion  as  well  as  of  primitive  Christianity,  with  regard  to  this  point ;  and  that, 
as  a  dogma  at  least,  the  truth  is  not  now  generally  maintained.  I  must  be- 
lieve,  too,  that  he  overrates,  in  some  measure,  the  extent  to  which  it  is  prac- 
tically felt.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  always,  that  every  truth  in  Christianity 
finds  its  counterfeit  and  shadow,  in  the  religious  life  contemplated  under  a 
lower  view.  It  is  the  absolute  reality  of  what  we  meet  elsewhere,  under  the 
form  of  mere  prophecy  or  nisus.  Now  the  very  idea  of  religion,  no  matter 
how  defective,  involves  a  demand  for  union  with  Cod.  Of  course,  when  pow- 
erfully excited,  in  connection  with  Christianity,  it  can  hardly  fail  to  make  this 
thought  prominent  in  someway.  And  all  this  certainly  constitutes  a  strong 
argument  for  the  truth  itself  which  it  is  thus  attempted  to  reach.  But  there 
is  a  constant  tendency,  within  the  Christian  sphere  as  well  as  beyond  it,  to 
substitute  here  the  phantasm  for  the  reality  itself;  as  we  may  see  in  the  case 
of  the  Anal)a|)tistR  and  Quakers.  Much  of  the  experience  of  Methodist  prayer 
meetings,  it  is  to  be  feared,  labors  under  the  same  defect  of  unrealit}/ ;  and, 
universally,  there  is  danger  of  this,  where  religion  is  suffered  to  run  out  into 
the  simply  subjective  form,  with  little  or  no  regard  to  the  sacraments  and  the 
true  idea  of  the  Church.  The  piety  of  the  old  Scotch  divines,  is  of  a  far  more 
substantial  order;  and  we  have  reason  to  he  thankful  that  the  life  and  power 
of  it  are  still  felt,  in  the  case  of  this  doctrine  of  the  mystical  union,  f;\r  more 
extensively  than  the  doctrine  itself  is  either  understood  or  acknowledged. 
But  this  want  of  proportion  between  life  and  doctrine,  is  itself  a  great  evil  ; 
especially  now  when  the  strong  tide  of  rationalistic  error,  arrogating  to  itself 
the  title  of  Protestant  orthodoxy,  is  threatening  to  rarefy  auil  s])iritualize  the 
whole  truth  into  a  sheer  moral  abstrac  tion. 


MODERN  PURITAN  THEORY.  109 

which  the  use  of  the  sacraments  is  maintained  on  the  part  of 
professing  Christians.  Not  only  is  the  old  doctrine  rejected,  but 
it  has  become  almost  lost  even  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Church. 
When  it  is  brought  into  view,  it  is  not  believed,  perhaps,  that 
the  Reformed  Church  ever  held  or  taught,  in  fact,  any  doctrine 
of  the  sort;  or  if  it  be  yielded  at  length,  that  Calvin  and  some 
others  maintained  some  such  view,  it  is  set  down  summarily  as 
one  of  those  instances  in  which  the  work  of  the  Reformation 
appears  still  clogged  with  a  measure  of  Popish  superstition, 
brouofht  over  from  that  state  of  darkness  and  bondage  which  had 
just  been  left  behind.  In  this  view,  the  doctrine  is  considered 
to  be  of  no  force  whatever  for  the  Church,  in  her  present  condi- 
tion of  gospel  light  and  liberty.  It  is  unintelligible  and  absurd; 
savors  of  transubstantiation ;  exalts  the  flesh  at  the  expense  of 
the  spirit.  A  real  presence  of  the  whole  Christ  in  the  Lord's 
Supper,  under  any  form,  is  counted  a  hard  saying,  not  to  be  en- 
dured by  human  reason,  and  contrary  to  God's  word.  Thus  it 
stands  with  our  churches  generally.  Even  in  the  Episcopal 
Church,  with  all  the  account  it  professes  to  make  of  the  sacra- 
ments, few  are  willing  to  receive  in  full  such  representations  of 
the  eucharistic  presence,  as  are  made  either  by  Hooker  or 
Calvin. 

To  feel  at  once  the  full  force  of  the  representation  now  made, 
it  is  only  necessary  to  observe  the  style  in  which  it  is  usual,  at 
the  present  time,  to  speak  of  the  sacraments  in  general,  and  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  in  particular,  as  compared  with  the  language 
of  the  Church  on  the  same  subject  in  the  period  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. The  following  extracts,  taken  from  several  of  our  popular 
modern  theological  writers,  will  be  acknowledged,  no  doubt,  to 
be  a  fair  representation  of  the  view,  which  is  now  too  commonly 
entertained  among  us,  on  the  subject  to  which  they  refer. 

"  The  sacraments  are  also  said  to  seal  the  blessings  that  they  sig- 
nify ;  and  accordingly  they  are  called  not  only  signs  but  seals.  It 
is  a  difficult  matter  to  explain,  and  clearly  to  state  the  difference  be- 
tween these  two  words,  or  to  show  what  is  contained  in  a  seal  that 
is  not  in  a  sign.  Some  think  that  it  is  distinction  without  a  differ- 
ence."  "If  we  call  them  confirming  seals,  we  intend  nothing  else 

hereby  but  that  God  has,  to  the  promises  that  are  given  to  us  in  his 
word,  added  these  ordinances ;  not  only  to  bring  to  mind  this  great 
doctrine,  that  Christ  has  redeemed  his  people  by  his  blood,  but  to 
assure  them  that  they  who  believe  in  him  shall  be  made  partakers  of 
this  blessing;  so  that  these  ordinances  are  a  pledge  thereof  to  them, 
in  w^iich  respect  God  has  set  his  seal,  whereby  in  an  objective  way 
he  gives  believers  to  understand,  that  Christ  and  his  benefits  are  theirs  ; 
and  they  are  obliged  at  the  same  time  by  faith,  as  well  as  in  an  ex- 
ternal manner,  to  signify  their  compliance  with  his  covenant,  which 

10 


110  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

we  may  call  their  setting  to  their  seal  that  God  is  true." — Eidgely^s 
Body  of  Divinily  {Philadelphia  ediiiun  r/  1815),  Vol.  IV.  p.  163,  165, 

"  Thus  concerning  Christ's  death,  showed  forth  or  signified  in  this 
ordinance.  We  are  farther,  under  this  head,  to  consider  how  he  is 
present,  and  they  who  engage  in  it  aright  feed  on  his  body  and  blood 
by  faith.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  Christ  is  present  in  a  corporal 
iway,  so  that  we  should  be  said  to  partake  of  his  body  in  a  literal 
'sense  ;  but  he  being  a  divine  person,  and  consequently  omnipresent, 
and  having  promised  his  presence  with  his  Church  in  all  ages  and 
places,  when  met  together  in  his  name ;  in  this  respect  he  is  present 
with  them,  in  like  manner  as  he  is  in  other  ordinances,  to  supply 
their  wants,  hear  their  prayers,  and  strengthen  them  against  corrup- 
tion and  temptation,  and  remove  their  guilt  by  the  application  of  his 
blood,  which  is  presented  as  an  object  for  their  contemplation  in  a 
more  peculiar  manner  in  this  ordinance. 

"As  for  our  feeding  on,  or  being  nourished  by  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ,  these  are  metaphorical  expressions,  taken  from  and 
adapted  to  the  nature  and  quality  of  the  bread  and  wine  by  which  it 
is  signified  ;  but  that  which  we  are  to  understand  hereby  is,  our  graces 
being  farther  strengthened  and  established,  and  we  enabled  to  exer- 
cise them  with  greater  vigour  and  delight ;  and  this  derived  from 
Christ,  and  particularly  founded  on  his  death.  And  when  we  are  said 
to  feed  upon  him  in  order  hereunto,  it  denotes  the  application  of  what 
he  has  done  and  suffered  to  ourselves;  and  in  order  hereunto  we  are 
to  bring  our  sins,  with  all  the  guilt  that  attends  them,  as  it  were,  to 
the  foot  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  confess  and  humble  our  souls  for 
them  before  him,  and  by  faith  plead  the  virtue  of  his  death,  in  order 
to  our  obtaining  forgiveness,  and  at  the  same  time  renew  our  dedica- 
tion to  him,  while  hoping  and  praying  for  the  blessing  and  privileges 
of  the  covenant  of  grace,  which  were  purchased  by  him." — Ibid.  p. 
215. 

"There  is  in  the  Lord's  Supper  a  mutual  solemn  profession  of  the 
two  parties  transacting  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  visibly  united  in 
that  covenant;  the  Lord  Christ  by  his  minister  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  communicants  (who  are  professing  believers)  on  the  other.  The 
administrator  of  the  ordinance  acts  in  the  quality  of  Christ's  minister, 
acts  in  iiis  name,  as  representing  him  ;  and  stands  in  the  place  where 
Christ  himself  stood,  at  the  first  administration  of  this  sacrament,  and 
in  the  original  institution  of  the  ordinance.  Christ,  by  the  speeches 
and  actions  of  the  minister,  makes  a  solemn  profession  of  his  part  in 
the  covenant  of  grace;  he  exhibits  the  sacrifice  of  his  body  broken 
and  his  blood  shed;  and  in  the  minister's  offering  the  sacmmental 
bread  and  wine  to  the  communicants,  (Christ  presents  himself  to  the 
believing  communicants  as  their  propitiation  and  bread  of  life;  and 
by  these  outward  signs  confirms  and  seals  his  sincere  engagements 
to  be  their  Saviour  and  food,  and  to  impart  to  them  all  the  benefits  of 
his  propitiation  and  salvation.  And  they,  in  receiving  what  is  ofiered, 
and  eating  and  drinking  the  symbols  of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  also 
profess  their  part  in  the  covenant  of  grace ;  they  profess  to  embrace 
the  promises  and  lay  hold  cf  the  hope  set  before  them,  to  receive  the 


MODERN    FUKITAN    TIIi:ORY.  Ill 

atonement,  to  receive  Christ  as  their  spiritual  food,  and  to  i'eed  upon 

him  in  their  hearts  by  faith." "The  sacramental  elements  in  the 

Lord's  Supper  do  represent  Christ  as  a  party  in  covenant,  as  truly  as 
a  proxy  represents  a  prince  to  a  foreign  lady  in  her  marriage  ;  and  our 
taking  those  elements  is  as  truly  a  professing  to  accept  Christ,  as  in 
the  other  case  the  lady's  taking  the  proxy  is  her  professing  to  accept 
the  prince  as  her  husband.  Or  the  matter  may  be  more  fitly  repre- 
sented by  this  similitude  : — it  is  as  if  a  prince  should  send  an  ambas- 
sador to  a  woman  in  a  foreign  land,  proposing  marriage,  and  by  his 
ambassador  should  send  her  his  picture,  and  should  desire  her  to  mani- 
fest her  acceptance  of  his  suit,  not  only  by  professing  her  acceptance 
in  words  to  his  ambassador,  but  in  token  of  her  sincerity,  openly  to 
take  or  accept  that  picture,  and  to  seal  her  profession  by  thus  repre- 
senting the  matter  over  again  by  a  symbolical  action." — President 
Edwards.  On  Full  Communion.  Works,  (New  York,  1844,")  Fol.  I. p. 
145,  146. 

"  The  elements  of  this  ordinance  are  bread  and  wine.  The  bread  con- 
secrated and  broken  represents  the  broken  body  of  Christ,  in  his  death 
on  the  cross.  The  wine  poured  out  represents  his  blood  in  his  death, 
which  was  shed  for  the  remission  of  sins.  The  professed  followers  of 
Christ,  by  eating  the  bread  and  drinking  the  wine,when  consecrated  and 
blessed  by  prayer  and  thanksgiving,  and  distributed  to  them  by  the 
officers  of  the  church,  do  by  this  transaction  profess  cordially  to  re- 
ceive Christ  by  faith,  and  to  live  upon  him,  loving  him,  and  trusting 
in  him  for  pardon  and  complete  redemption,  consecrating  themselves 
to  his  service.  And  by  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  consecrating  those 
elements,  and  ordering  them  to  be  distributed  to  the  communicants, 
Christ  is  exhibited  as  an  all-sufficient  Saviour,  and  the  promise  of 
salvation  is  expressed  and  sealed  to  all  his  friends.  This  is  therefore 
a  covenant  transaction,  in  which  those  Avho  partake  of  the  bread  and 
wine  express  their  faith  in  Christ,  that  they  are  his  friends,  and  de- 
voted to  his  service,  and  their  cordial  compliance  with  the  covenant 
of  grace,  and  solemnly  seal  this  covenant  by  partaking  of  these  ele- 
ments. And  at  the  same  time  they  are  a  token  and  seal  of  the  cove- 
nant of  grace  on  the  part  of  Christ." — Dr.  Samuel  Hopkins.  System 
(f  Theology,  Second  edition,  Boston,  1811.     Vol.  II.  p.  343. 

"At  the  Lord's  table  Christ,  by  the  mouth  of  his  minister  says, 
This  is  my  body,  take  ye,  eat  ye  all  of  it.  This  is  my  blood,  take  ye, 
drink  ye  all  of  it.  Hereby  sealing  to  the  truth  contained  in  the  ',  verit- 
ten  instrument.'  But  it  is  therein  written  in  so  many  words  :  '  I  am 
the  living  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven  ;  if  any  man  eat  of 
this  bread,  he  shall  live  forever ;  and  the  bread  that  I  will  give  him 
is  my  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world.  He  that  eateth 
my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood,  dwelleth  in  me,  and  I  in  him.'  John 
vi.  51,  56.  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  is  sealed  on  Christ's  part. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  communicant  by  his  practice  declares  :  '  I  take 
his  flesh,  and  eat  it;  I  take  his  blood  and  drink  it;'  and  seals  the 
covenant  on  his  part.  And  thus  the  '  written  instrument '  is  exter- 
nally and  visibly  sealed,  ratified,  and  confirmed,  on  both  sides,  with 
as  much  formality  as  any  'written  instrument'  is  mutually  sealed  by 


112  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

the  parties  in  any  covenant  among-  men.  And  now  if  both  parties 
are  sincere  in  the  covenant  thus  sealed,  and  if  both  abide  by  and  act 
according  to  it,  the  communicant  will  be  saved." — Bellamy.  Works, 
Vol.  in.  p,  166. 

Dr.  Dwight  has  much  to  say  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  speaking 
of  its  design,  he  tells  us  that  it  is  intended,  first,  tn  represent  the  great 
sacrifice  of  Christ  on  the  cross.  Sensible  impressions  go  far  beyond 
those  made  directly  on  the  understanding.  In  no  other  ordinance  is 
this  truth  so  fully  realized  as  in  the  Lord's  Supper.  "The  breaking 
of  the  bread,  and  the  pouring  out  of  the  wine,  exhibit  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ  with  a  force,  a  liveliness  of  representation,  confessed  by  all 
Christians,  at  all  times;  and  indeed  by  most  others  also;  and  unrival- 
led in  its  efficacy  even  by  the  Passover  itself.  All  the  parts  of  this 
service  are  perfectly  simple,  and  are  contemplated  by  the  mind  with- 
out the  least  distraction  or  labour.  The  symbols  are  exact,  and  most 
lively  portraits  of  the  aflfecting  original,  and  present  to  us  the  cruci- 
fixion, and  the  sufferings  of  the  great  subject  of  it,  as  again  undergone 
before  our  eyes.  We  are  not  barely  taught;  we  see  and  hear,  and  of 
consequence  feel,  that  Christ  our  Passover  was  slain  for  us,  and  died 

on  the  C7-0SS  that  we  might  live.'''' "  So  those  doctri?ies  of  the  Chris- 

tiari  system,  which  are  most  intimately  connected  with  it,  are  here  ex- 
hibited with  a  corresponding  clearness." "  In  this  solemn  ordi- 
nance, these  truths  are  in  a  sense  visible.  The  guilt  of  sin  is  here 
written  with  a  pen  of  iron  and  luith  the  jwint  of  a  diamond.  Christ  in 
a  sense  ascends  the  cross;  is  nailed  to  the  accursed  tree;  is  pierced 
with  the  spear;  and  pours  out  his  blood  to  wash  away  the  sins  of 
men.  Thus,  in  colours  of  life  and  death,  we  here  behold  the  won- 
derful scene  in  which  was  laid  on  him  the  iniquity. of  us  all.^''  The 
other  purposes  of  the  institution,  treated  of  at  length,  are  as  follows : 
It  is  a  standing  proof  of  Christ's  mission;  it  exhibits  the  purity  of 
Christ's  character;  it  admonishes  Christians  of  the  second  coming  of 
Christ;  it  unites  them  in  a  known,  public,  and  efficacious  bond  of 
union;  it  is  a  visible  and  affecting  pledge  of  Christ's  love  to  his  fol- 
lowers ;  it  is  suited  also  to  edify  Christians  in  the  divine  life  ;  "  The 
edification  of  Christians  is  the  increase  of  justness  in  their  views,  of 
purity  and  fervour  in  their  aff'ections,  and  of  fiiithfulness  in  their  con- 
duct, with  regard  to  the  objects  of  religion.  To  this  increase,  in  all 
respects,  the  Lord's  Supper  naturally  and  eminently  contributes." — 
Divighfs  Theology,  Serm.  CLX. 

The  motives  which  should  influence  us  to  the  celebration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  are  stated  to  be— 1.  The  command  of  Christ;  2.  The 
honour  of  Christ;  3.  The  benefits  derived  from  it  by  the  Church; 
4.  Our  own  personal  good.  "At  the  table  of  Christ  chiefly,  after  their 
baptism.  Christians  are  seen,  and  see  each  other,  as  a  public  body,  as 
mutual  friends,  and  as  followers  of  the  Lamb.  Here,  mutually,  they 
give  and  receive  countenance  and  resolution ;  worship  together  as 
Christians  only;  rejoice  together;  weep  together;  and  universally 
exercise  the  Christian  graces,  invigorated,  refined,  and  exalted  by  the 
sympathy  of  the  gospel.  Here  the  social  principle  of  the  intelligent 
nature  ascends  to  the  highest  pitch  of  dignity  and  excellence,  of  which 
in  this  world  it  is  capable.  Mind  here  refines,  enlarges,  and  ennobles 


MODERN  PURITAN  THEORY.  113 

mind  ;  virtue  purifies  and  elevates  virtue  ;  and  evangelical  friendship 
not  only  finds  and  makes  friends,  but  continually  renders  them  more 

and  more  worthy  of  the  name." "  No  exercises  of  the  Christian 

life  are  ordinarily  more  pure,  vigorous,  and  evangelical,  than  those 
which  are  experienced  at  the  sacramental  table.  The  sense  which  we 
here  feel  of  our  guilt,  danger,  and  helplessness,  is  apt  to  be  vivid 
and  impressive  in  an  unusual  degree.  Equally  impressive  are  the 
views  which  we  form  of  forgiving,  redeeming,  and  sanctifying  love. 
Here  godly  sorrow  for  sin  is  powerfully  awakened.  Here  are  strongly 
excited  complacency  in  the  divine  character,  admiration  of  the  riches 
of  divine  grace,  and  gratitude  for  the  glorious  interference  of  Christ  in 
becoming  the  propitiation  of  our  sins.  Here  brotherly  love  is  kindled 
into  a  flame ;  arid  benevolence,  warm,  generous,  and  expansive,  learns 
to  encircle  the  whole  family  of  Adam.  Here,  more  perhaps  than  any 
where  else.  Christians  have  the  savie  mind  which  was  also  in  Christ,  and 
prepare  themselves  to  walk  as  he  walked.  Every  evangelical  affection 
becomes  vigorous  and  active,  virtuous  resolutions  stable,  and  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Christian  life  exalted." "  The  ends  proposed  in  the 

institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper  by  the  Redeemer  of  mankind,  are  cer- 
tainly of  a  most  benevolent  and  glorious  nature,  and  peculiarly  w^or- 
thy  of  the  All-perfect  Mind.  They  are  the  enlargement  and  rectifica- 
tion of  our  views  concerning  the  noblest  of  all  subjects,  the  purifica- 
tion of  our  affections,  and  the  amendment  of  our  lives.  The  means 
by  which  these  ends  are  accomplished,  are  equally  efficacious  and  de- 
sirable. They  are  at  the  same  time  simple,  intelligible  to  the  hum- 
blest capacity,  in  no  respect  burdensome,  lying  within  the  reach  of  all 
men,  incapable  of  being  misconstrued  without  violence,  and  therefore 
not  easily  susceptible  of  mystical  or  superstitious  perversion.  In  their 
own  proper,  undisguised  nature,  they  appeal  powerfully  to  the  senses, 
the  imagination,  and  the  heart,  and  at  the  same  time  enlighten,  in  the 
happiest  manner,  the  understanding.  Accordingly,  Christians  in  all 
ages  have  regarded  this  sacrament  with  the  highest  veneration  ;  have 
gone  to  the  celebration  with  hope  ;  attended  it  with  delight ;  and  left 
it  with  improvement  in  the  evangelical  character." — Dwighfs  The- 
ology.  Serm.  CLXI. 

Dr.  Dick  endorses  and  accepts  in  full  the  opinion  of  Zuingli  on  the 
Lord's  Supper,  which  he  affirms  to  have  been  this:  "That  the  bread 
and  wine  were  no  more  than  a  representation  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ;  or  in  other  words,  the  signs  appointed  to  denote  the  benefits 
that  were  conferred  upon  mankind  in  consequence  of  the  death  of 
Christ ;  that  therefore  Christians  derive  no  other  fruit  from  the  parti- 
cipation of  the  Lord's  Supper,  than  a  mere  commemoration  and  re- 
membrance of  the  merits  of  Christ,  and  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
ordinance  but  a  memorial  of  Christ."  There  seems  to  have  been  a 
disposition  in  that  age,  he  thinks,  "  to  believe  that  there  was  a  pre- 
sence of  Christ  in  the  eucharist,  different  from  his  presence  in  the 
other  ordinances  of  the  gospel  ;  an  undefined  something  which  corre- 
sponded to  the  strong  language  used  at  the  institution  of  the  Supper, 
This  is  my  body — this  is  my  blood.  Acknowledging  it  to  be  figurative, 
many  still  thought  that  a  mystery  was  couched  under  it.  It  was  not 
indeed  easy  for  those  who  had  long  been  accustomed  to  the  notion  of 

10* 


114  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

the  bodily  presence  of  Christ,  at  once  to  simplify  their  ideas;  and 
perhaps  too  they  were  induced  to  express  themselves  as  they  did,  with 
a  view  to  give  less  offence  to  the  Lutherans.  Whatever  was  their 
motive,  their  language  is  not  always  sufficiently  guarded."  Calvin 
was  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  the  Reformation,  and  in  learn- 
ing, genius,  and  zeal,  had  few  equals,  and  no  superior.  Yet  he  too 
falls  into  this  condemnation.  A  passage  is  quoted,  which  it  is  found 
impossible  to  understand.  "  It  supposes  a  communion  of  believers 
in  the  human  nature  of  our  Saviour,  in  the  eucharist;  and  endeavours 
to  remove  the  objection  arising  from  distance  of  place,, by  a  reference 
to  the  almighty  power  of  the  Spirit,  much  in  the  same  way  as  Papists 
and  Lutherans  solve  the  difficulty  attending  their  respective  systems. 
If  Calvin  had  meant  only  that  in  the  Sacred  Supper  believers  have 
fellowship  with  Christ  in  his  death,  he  would  have  asserted'  an  im- 
portant truth,  attested  by  the  experience  of  the  people  of  God  in  everj 
age  ;  but  why  did  he  obscure  it,  and  destroy  its  simplicity,  by  involv- 
ing it  in  ambiguous  language  ?  If  he  had  any  thing  different  in  view  ; 
if  he  meant  that  there  is  some  mysterious  communication  with  his 
human  nature,  we  must  be  permitted  to  say  that  the  notion  was  as 

incomprehensible  to  himself  as  it  is  to  his  readers." "  Stript 

of  all  metaphorical  terms,  the  action  must  mean,  that  in  the  believing 
and  grateful  commemoration  of  his  death,  we  enjoy  the  blessings 
which  were  purchased  by  it,  in  the  same  manner  in  which  we  enjoy 
them  when  we  exercise  faith  in  hearing  the  gospel.  Why  then  should 
any  man  talk  as  Calvin  does,  of  some  inexplicable  communion  in  this 
ordinance  with  the  human  nature  of  Christ;  and  tell  us  that  although 
it  seems  impossible,  on  account  of  the  distance  to  which  he  is  removed 
from  us,  we  are  not  to  measure  the  power  of  the  Divine  Spirit  by  our 
standard  ?  I  am  sure  that  the  person  who  speaks  so,  conveys  no  idea 
into  the  minds  of  those  whom  he- addresses  ;  and  I  am  equally  certain 

that  he  does  not  understand  himself." "  There  is  an  absurdity 

in  the  notion,  that  there  is  any  communion  with  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,  considered  in  themselves ;  that  he  intended  any  such  thing  ; 

or  that  it  could  be  of  any  advantage  to  us." "  When  our  Church 

therefore  says,  that  '  the  body  and  blood  are  as  really,  but  spiritually, 
present  to  the  faith  of  believers  in  that  ordinance,  as  the  elements 
themselves  are  to  their  outward  senses,'  and  that  they  '  feed  upon  his 
body  and  blood  to  their  spiritual  nourishment  and  growth  in  grace,' 
it  can  mean  only,  that  our  incarnate  suffering  Saviour  is  apprehended 
by  their  minds,  through  the  instituted  signs  ;  and  that  by  faith  they 
enjoy  peace  and  hope;  or  it  means  something  unintelligible  and  un- 
scriptural."  This  looks  to  the  Westminster  Confession.  The  lan- 
guage of  the  Gallic  or  French  Confession  is  then  quoted,  only  to  be 
condemned  in  still  more  explicit  terms.  Still  the  presence  of  Christ 
in  the  eucharist  must  be  admitted.  But  then  it  is  only  as  he  is  pre- 
sent in  religious  services  generally.  "  In  all  these  ordinances  he  is 
present;  and  he  is  present  in  the  same  manner  in  them  all,  namely, 
by  his  Spirit,  who  renders  them  effectual  means  of  salvation." — Lec- 
tures on  Theology^  by  the  late  Rev.  John  Dick,  D.  D.,  Lect.  XCI.  XCII. 

"  By  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  figuratively  represented  in  the 
Lord's  Supper,  we  are  undoubtedly  to  understand  his  whole  work  of 


MODERN  PURITAN  THEORY.  il5 

satisfying  the  justice  of  God  in  behalf  of  his  peculiar  people,  which 
was  consummated  or  completed,  when  his  body  was  broken  and  his 
blood  shed  on  the  cross  of  Calvary ;  together  with  the  privileges  and 
blessings  resulting,  both  in  this  life  and  that  which  is  to  come,  from 
their  Saviour's  finished  work.  All  these  rich  and  inestimable  gifts 
of  divine  grace,  faith  receives  and  applies  in  the  proper  celebration  of 

this  holy  rite." "  Justly  does   our  Confession  of  Faith  declare, 

when  speaking  of  this  sacrament,  that  '  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ 
are  as  really,  but  spiritually,  present  to  the  faith  of  believers,  in  this 
ordinance,  as  the  elements  themselves  are  to  the  outward  senses.' 
O,  my  young  friends  !  what  blessed  visions  of  faith  are  those,  in  which 
this  precious  grace  creates  an  ideal  presence  of  the  suffering,  bleed- 
ing, dying,  atoning  Saviour.  When  Gethsemane,  and  Pilate's  hall, 
and  the  cross,  the  thorny  crown,  the  nails,  the  spear,  the  hill  of  Cal- 
vary, are  in  present  view ;  when  the  astounding  cry  of  the  co-equal 
Son  of  the  Father,  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  mc,  thrills 
through  the  ear  to  the  heart;  when  the  joyous  voice  quickly  follows, 
proclaiming,  //  is  Jinished .'  Father,  into  thy  hands,  I  commend  my 
spirit.  Yes,  it  is  here  that  faith  sees  the  sinner's  ransom  amply  paid, 
&c.  &c.  Well  may  it  be  added,  that  'spiritual  nourishment  and 
growth  in  grace'  must  be  the  result  of  views  and  exercises  such  as 
these." — Lectures  on  the  Shorter  Catechism,  by  Dr.  Green,  vol.  ii.  p. 
338—340. 

''''John  vi.  53 — 56.  The  plain  meaning  of  the  passage  is,  that  by 
his  bloody  death,  his  body  and  his  blood  oiTered  in  sacrifice  for  sin, 
he  would  procure  pardon  and  life  for  man  ;  and  that  they  who  partook 
of  that,  or  had  an  interest  in  that,  should  obtain  eternal  life.  He  uses 
the  figure  of  eating  and  drinking,  because  that  was  the  subject  of  dis- 
course, because  the  Jews  prided  themselves  much  on  the  fact  that 
their  fathers  had  eaten  manna  ,•  and  because,  as  he  had  said  that  he 
was  the  bread  of  life,  it  was  natural  to  carry  out  the  Jigure,  and  say 
that  that  bread  must  be  eaten,  in  order  to  be  of  any  avail  in  supporting 
and  saving  men." — "  Is  meat  indeed.  Is  truly  food.  My  doctrine  is 
truly  that  which  will  give  life  to  the  soul." — '■'•  Dwelleth  in  me.  Is 
truly  and  intimately  connected  with  me.  To  dwell  or  abide  in  him 
is  to  remain  in  the  belief  of  his  doctrine,  and  in  the  participation  of 
all  the  benefits  of  his  death."— "/ni  him.  Jesus  dwells  in  believers 
by  his  spirit  and  doctrine.  When  his  spirit  is  given  them  to  sanctify 
them,  and  his  temper,  his  meekness,  humility,  love,  pervades  their 
hearts  ;  and  when  his  doctrine  is  received  by  them  and  influences 
their  life,  and  when  they  are  supported  by  the  consolations  of  his 
gospel,  it  may  be  said  that  he  abides  or  dwells  in  them." — ^'•Matthew 
xxvi.  26.  This  is  my  body.  This  represents  my  body.  This  broken 
bread  shows  the  manner  in  which  my  body  will  be  broken  ;  or  this 
will  serve  to  call  my  dying  sufferings  to  your  remembrance.''^ — "  So 
Paul  and  Luke  say  of  the  bread,  '  this  is  my  body  broken  for  you ; 
this  do  in  remembrance  of  me.'  This  expresses  the  whole  design  of 
the  sacramental  bread.  It  is  by  a  striking  emblem  to  call  to  remem- 
brance in  a  vivid  manner  the  dying  suflferings  of  our  Lord." — Barnes, 
Notes  on  the  Gospels. 


116  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

These  are  respectable  authorities.  They  are  quoted  with  re- 
spect. They  will  be  acknowledged  generally  no  doubt  to  be  a 
fair  representation  of  the  predominant  modern  view,  with  regard 
to  the  Lord's  Supper;  particularly  as  it  prevails  in  New  England, 
and  throughout  the  Calvinistic  Churches  of  this  country  in 
general.  The  extracts  are  made  various  and  full,  as  the  best 
means  of  producing  a  clear  and  distinct  impression  of  the  sense 
that  runs  through  them  as  a  whole.  It  would  be  easy  of  course 
to  multiply  them  almost  to  any  extent.  But  this  is  not  neces- 
sary. All  that  the  case  requires  is  simply  such  a  picture  as  may 
be  acknowledged  to  furnish  a  proper  exhibition  of  the  general 
view  it  is  intended  to  represent.  For  this,  the  extracts  now 
offered  are  suflicient. 


MODERN    I'UIIITAN    THKORY.  117 


SECTION  IT. 


CONTRAST. 


Now  the  first  point  that  claims  attention  in  the  case,  is  the  fact 
of  such  a  difference  between  the  view  here  exhibited  and  the  Re- 
formed doctrine  of  the  sixteentli  century,  as  has  been  already 
affirmed.  So  hr  as  this  goes,  it  is  not  necessary  to  decide  abso- 
lutely on  the  nature  of  the  difference.  We  may  call  it  a  change 
for  the  worse  or  a  change  for  the  better,  as  it  may  happen  to 
strike  our  judgment.  But  the  fact  of  the  difference  itself  all 
must  allow.  The  theology  of  New  England,  in  the  case  before 
us,  is  not  the  theology  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  This  Puritan  theory  of  the  power  and  virtue  of  the 
sacraments,  is  not  the  theory  that  was  held  by  Calvin  and  that 
appears  in  the  symbolical  books  of  the  first  Calvinistic  Churches. 

We  need  only  to  make  ourselves  at  home  in  the  first  place 
among  the  opinions  of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  presented  for 
instance  in  Hospinian  or  Planck,  and  then  pass  over  suddenly  to 
the  thinking  of  our  own  time,  as  revealed  in  such  works  as  have 
now  been  quoted,  in  order  to  feel  the  full  force  of  the  difference. 
It  is  a  transition  into  another  spiritual  element  entirely.  The 
difference  is  not  simply  in  words  and  forms  of  expression.  It 
extends  to  thoughts  themselves.  A  different  view  prevails,  in 
the  two  cases,  of  the  nature  of  the  sacraments,  and  of  their  re- 
lation to  the  ends  for  which  they  have  been  instituted  ;  and 
along  with  this,  the  fact  cannot  be  disguised,  a  different  view 
also  of  the  nature  of  the  Christian  salvation  itself,  in  its  relation 
to  the  person  of  the  glorious  Redeemer.  Calvin  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  approved  what  appears  to  have  been  the  sacramental 
doctrine  of  Edwards.  Ursinus  must  have  openly  condemned 
the  style  in  which  the  subject  is  presented  by  Ridgely.  Dr. 
Dick  virtually  pronounces  himself  at  variance  with  all  the  early 
Reformed  symbols.  Even  Owen  himself  could  hardly  have 
endured  with  patience,  the  language  of  Dr.  Dwight.  The  dif- 
ference is  real  and  serious.  The  doctrine  that  runs  through 
these  extracts,  is  not  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformed  Church  as  it 
stood  in  the  beginning. 

To  make  the  case  more  plain,  let  the  following  particulars  be 
noticed,  as  characterizing  in  general  the  departure  of  the  modern 
Puritan  from  the  old  Reformed  view.  They  will  show  that  it  is 
a  question  of  something  more  than  mere  words. 


118        ,  '  THE    MYSTICAL    PUIiSENCL. 

1.  In  tlie  old  Reformed  view,  the  communion  of  the  believer 
with  Christ  in  the  Supper  is  taken  to  be  spcriji.c  in  its  nature, 
and  different  from  all  that  has  place  in  the  common  exercises  of 
worship.  The  sacrament,  not  the  elemenls  of  course  separately 
considered,  but  the  ordinance  as  the  union  of  element  and 
word,  is  held  to  be  such  an  exhibition  of  saving  grace,  as  is 
presented  to  the  faith  of  the  Church  under  no  other  form.  It 
is  not  simply  the  word  brought  to  mind  in  its  ordinary  foi;ce. 
The  outward  is  not  merely  the  occasion  by  which  the  inward, 
in  the  case,  is  made  present  to  the  soul  as  a  separate  existence  ; 
but  inward  and  outward,  by  the  energy  of  the  Spirit,  are  made 
to  flow  together  in  the  way  of  a  common  life;  and  come  thus  to 
exert  a  peculiar,  and  altogether  extraordinary  power,  in  this  form, 
to  the  benefit  of  the  believer.  "There  is  a  peculiar  communion 
with  Christ,"  says  Dr.  Owen,  "  which  we  have  in  no  other  ordi- 
nance ;"  and  this,  he  adds,  has  been  the  faith  of  the  whole  Church 
in  all  ages.  "  A  way  of  receiving  Christ  by  eating  and  drink- 
ing; something  peculiar,  that  is  not  in  prayer,  that  is  not  in  the 
hearing  of  the  word,  noi  in  any  otiier  part  of  divine  worship 
whatever;  a  peculiar  participation  of  Christ,  a  peculiar  acting  of 
faith  towards  Christ;" — In  the  modern  Puritan  view,  on  the  con- 
trary, this  specific  peculiar  virtue  of  the  sacraments  is  not  re- 
cognized. Christ  is  present,  we  are  told  by  Dr.  Dick,  in  all  or- 
dinances; "  and  he  is  present  in  the  sanie  manner  in  them  all, 
namely  by  his  Spirit,  who  renders  them  efiectual  means  of  sal- 
vation." So  with  Dr.  Dwight  the  entire  force  of  the  institution, 
is  made  to  consist  in  the  occasion  it  affords,  for  the  affections 
and  exercises  of  common  religious  worship.  The  idea  of  a  pe- 
culiar sacramental  power,  belonging  to  this  form  of  worship  as 
such,  seems  to  have  no  place  at  all  in  his  system. 

2.  In  the  old  Reformed  view,  the  sacramental  transaction  is  a 
mysfcri/ ;  nay,  in  some  sense  an  actual  miracle.  The  Spirit 
works  here  in  a  way  that  transcends,  not  only  the  human  under- 
standing, but  the  ordinary  course  of  the  world  also  in  every 
other  view.  There  is  a  form  of  action  in  the  sacraments,  which 
now  belongs  indeed  to  the  regular  order  of  the  life  that  is  com- 
prehended in  the  Church,  but  which  as  thus  established  still  in- 
volves a  character  that  may  be  denominated  s^itpcrnatural,  as  com- 
pared with  the  ordinary  constitution,  not  only  of  nature,  but 
even  of  the  Christian  life  itself.  "  Not  without  reason,"  says 
Calvin,  "  is  the  communication,  which  makes  us  flesh  of  Christ's 
flesh  and  bone  of  his  bones  denominated  by  Paul  a  greot  nn/s- 
tery.  In  the  sacred  Supper,  therefore,  we  acknowledge  it  a 
miracle,  transcending  both  nature  and  our  own  understanding, 
that  Christ's  life  is  made  common  to  us  with  himself  and  his 
flesh  given  to  us  as  aliment."  "  This  mystery  of  our  coalition 


MODERN  PURITAN  THEORY.  119 

with  Christ,"  says  the  Gallic  Confession,  "  is  so  sublime,  that  it 
transcends  all  our  senses  and  also  the  whole  course  of  nature." 
"  The  mode  is  such,"  according  to  the  Belgic  Confession,  **  as 
to  surpass  the  apprehension  of  our  mind,  and  cannot  be  under- 
stood by  any."  "  The  mT/sterioitsness,"  we  are  told  by  Dr.  Owen, 
"  is  beyond  expression ;  the  mijsterious  reception  of  Christ  in 
this  peculiar  way  of  exhibition." 

Contrast  with  this  now  the  style  in  which  the  ordinance  is  re- 
presented, from  the  proper  Puritan  stand-point,  in  the  extracts 
already  quoted.  We  find  it  spoken  of,  it  is  true,  with  great  re- 
spect, as  full  of  interest,  significance  and  power.  But  it  is  no 
mystery;  much  less  a  miracle.  As  little  so,  it  would  seem,  in 
the  view  of  Dr.  Dwight,  as  a  common  fourth  of  July  celebration. 
The  ends  contemplated  in  the  one  case  are^  religious,  in  the 
other  patriotic;  but  the  institutions  as  related  to  these  ends  are  in 
all  material  respects  of  one  and  the  same  order.  The  ends  pro- 
posed in  the  Supper  "  the  enlargement  and  rectification  of  our 
vitios — the  purification  of  our  affections — the  amendment  of  our 
lives.  The  means  are  efficacious  and  desirable;  at  the  same 
time  simple;  intelligible  to  the  hwnhlest  capacity ;  in  no  respect 
burdensome;  lying  within  the  reach  of  all  men;  incapable  of 
being  misconstrued  without  violence;  and  therefore  not  easily 
susceptible  of  mystical  or  superstitious  perversion.  In  their  own 
proper,  undiguised  nature,  they  appeal  powerfully  to  the  senses, 
the  itn agination,  and  the  heart;  and  at  the  same  time  enlighten 
in  the  liappiest  manner,  the  understanding."  All  this  is  said  to 
show  "  the  wisdom  of  this  institution."  "  There  seems  to  have 
been  a  disposition  in  that  age,"  says  Dr.  Dick,  with  reference  to 
the  sixteenth  century,  "  to  believe  that  there  was  a  presence  of 
Christ  in  the  eucharist  different  from  his  presence  in  the  other 
ordinances  of  the  gospel ;  an  undefined  something,  which  cor- 
responded to  the  strong  language  used  at  the  institution  of  the 
Supper :  This  is  my  body, — this  is  my  blood.  Acknowledging 
it  to  be  figurative,  many  still  thought  that  a  tnystci-ywna  couched 
under  it."  Dr.  Dick  himself  of  course  finds  no  mystery  in  the 
case.  Calvin's  doctrine  accordingly  is  rejected,  as  incomprehen- 
sible; not  understood  by  himself,  (as  the  great  theologian  indeed 
humbly 'admits,)  and  beyond  the  understanding  also  of  his  readers. 
"  Plain,  literal  language  is  best,  especially  on  spiritual  subjects, 
and  should  have  been  employed  by  Protestant  Churches  with  the 
utmost  care,  as  the  figurative  terms  of  Scripture  have  been  so 
grossly  mistaken."  To  this  we  jnay  add,  that  the  very  reason 
why  such  plain,  simple  language  as  might  have  suited  Dr.  Dick 
has  not  been  employed  by  the  Protestant  Churches  in  their  sym- 
bolical books,  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  these  Protestant 
Churches  believed  and  intended  to  assert  the  presence  of  a  mys- 


120  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

tery  in  the  sacrament,  for  the  idea  of  which  no  place  is  allowed 
in  his  creed,  and  that  could  not  be  properly  represented  there- 
fore by  any  language  which  this  creed  might  supply. 

3.  The  old  Reformed  doctrine  includes  always  the  idea  of 
an  objective  force  in  the  sacraments.  The  sacramental  union 
between  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  is  real,  and  holds  in 
virtue  of  the  constitution  of  the  ordinance  itself,  not  in  the  faith 
simply  or  inward  frame  of  the  communicant.  Without  faith 
indeed  this  force  which  belongs  to  the  sacrament  cannot  avail 
to  the  benefit  of  the  communicant;  faith  forms  the  indispensa- 
ble condition,  by  whose  presence  only  the  potential  in  this  case 
can  become  actual,  the  life  that  is  present  be  brought  to  take 
effect  in  the  interior  man.  But  the  condition  here,  as  in  all 
other  cases,  is  something  different  from  the  thing  itself,  for 
which  it  makes  room.*  The  grace  of  the  sacrament  comes 
from  God  ;  but  it  comes  as  such  under  the  sacrament  as  its  true 
and  proper  form  ;  not  inhering  in  the  elements  indeed,  out- 
wardly considered  ;  but  still  mysteriously  lodged,  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  sacramental  transaction  as  a  whole. 
The  grace  is  truly  present,  according  to  Calvin,  even  where  it 
is  excluded  from  the  soul  by  unbelief;  as  much  so  as  the  fer- 
tilizing qualities  of  the  rain,  that  falls  fruitless  on  the  barren 
rock.  Unbelief  may  make  it  of  no  effect;  but  the  intrinsic 
virtue  of  the  sacrament  itself  still  remains  the  same.  The 
bread  and  wine  are  the  sure  pledge  still  of  the  presence  of  what 
they  represent,  and  "  a  true  exhibition  of  it  on  the  part  of  God." 
''  The  symbols,"  say  Beza  and  Farel,  *'  are  by  no  means  naked  ; 

*  It  is  strange  how  much  difficulty  some  persons  seem  to  find  in  making 
this  plain  distinction.  Because  faith  is  necessary  to  the  right  use  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  they  will  have  it  forthwith  that  all  the  force  of  it  must  resolve  itself 
into  the  exercise  of  this  grace  on  the  part  of  the  worshipper;  and  when  they 
hear  of  an  objective  virtue  in  the  sacrament  itself,  the  presence  of  a  real  spi- 
ritual  energy  belonging  to  it  in  its  own  nature,  whether  apprehended  by  the 
communicant  or  not,  and  altogether  independent  of  his  faith,  they  are  ready 
to  exclaim  against  it  at  once  as  the  very  opus  operatum  of  Popery  itself.  But 
the  difFcrencc  between  condition  and  principle,  is  one  that  meets  us  on  all 
sides,  in  every  sphere  of  life.  The  plant  cannot  vegetate  and  grow  witliotit 
the  presence  of  certain  conditions,  earth,  moisture,  heat,  light,  &c.,  required 
for  its  development.  Are  these  conditions  then,  in  any  sense,  the  principle 
or  ground  of  its  life  as  such  ?  Shall  we  say  of  the  seed  that  it  has  no  life  in 
itself  till  it  is  thus  called  out  in  an  actual  way  ?  On  the  contrary,  we  afiinu 
the  life  to  be  in  the  seed  objectively,  even  though  it  should  never  have  an 
opportunity  to  make  its  appearance.  And  so  we  say,  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper — not  the  elements,  of  course,  as  such,  but  the  transaction,  the 
sacramental  inystcry  as  a  whole — includes,  or  makes  present  objectively,  tlie 
true  life  of  Christ,  which,  when  it  meets  with  the  proper  conditions  in  the 
believer's  soul,  will  there  reveal  itself  in  the  same  character,  as  something 
quite  different  from  the  mere  working  of  the  conditions  themselves  by  which 
this  is  accomplished.  To  the  unbeliever  the  same  life  is  exhibited  under  the 
same  form,  but  he  does  not  accept  it  in  his  soul.  He  eats  and  drinks  judg- 
ment to  himself,  not  discerning  the  Lord's  body. 


MODERN    PURITAN    THEORY.  121 

but  so  far  as  God  is  concerned,  who  makes  the  promise  and 
offer,  they  always  have  the  thing  itself  truly  and  certainly  joined 
with  them,  whether  proposed  to  believers  or  unbelievers." — 
"  We  do  utterly  condemn  the  the  vanity  of  those  who  affirm, 
that  the  sacraments  are  nothing  else  but  mere  naked  signs." 
Old  Scotch  Confession. — "  Those  signs  then  are  by  no  means 
vain  or  void."  Belgic  Confession. — "  We  teach  that  the  things 
signified  are  together  with  the  signs  in  the  right  use  exhibited 
and  communicated."  Ursimis.  The  sacrament  in  this  view, 
not  only  signifies,  but  seals  to  believers,  the  grace  it  carries  in 
its  constitution.  It  is  not  simply  a  pledge  that  the  blessings  it 
represents  are  sure  to  them,  in  a  general  way,  apart  from  this  par- 
ticular engagement  itself;  as  when  a  man  by  some  outward 
stipulation  binds  himself  to  fulfil  the  terms  of  a  contract  in  an- 
other place  and  at  another  time.  The  sacramental  transaction 
certifies  and  makes  good  the  grace  it  represents,  as  actually 
communicated  at  the  time.  So  it  is  said  to  exhibit  also  the 
thing  signified.  The  thing  is  there;  not  the  name  of  the  thing 
only,  and  not  its  sign  or  shadow;  but  the  actual  substance  itself. 
"  The  sacrament  is  no  picture,"  says  Calvin,  "  but  the  true, 
veritable  pledge  of  our  union  with  Christ."  To  say  that  the 
body  of  Christ  is  adumbrated  by  the  symbol  of  bread,  only  as 
a  dead  statue  is  made  to  represent  Hercules  or  Mercury,  he  pro- 
nounces profane.  The  signs,  Owen  tells  us,  "  exhibit  that  which 
they  do  not  contain.  It  is  no  empty,  painted  feast.  Here  is 
something  really  exhibited  by  Jesus  Christ  unto  us,  to  receive, 
besides  the  outward  pledges  of  bread  and  wine." 

How  different  from  all  this  again,  the  light  in  which  the  sub- 
ject is  presented  in  our  modern  Puritan  theology.  Here  too 
the  sacraments  are  indeed  said  to  seal,  and  also  to  exhibit,  the 
grace  they  represent.  But  plainly  the  old,  proper  sense  of  these 
terms,  in  the  case,  is  changed.  The  seal  ratifies  simply  a  cove- 
nant, in  virtue  of  which  certain  blessings  are  made  sure  to  the 
believer,  on  certain  conditions,  under  a  wholly  different  form. 
Two  parties  in  the  transaction,  Christ  and  his  people,  stipulate 
to  be  faithful  to  each  other  in  fulfilling  the  engagements  of  a 
mutual  contract ;  and  in  doing  so,  they  both  affix  their  seal  to 
the  sacramental  bond.  Such  is  the  view  presented  very  dis- 
tinctly by  Edwards,  Hopkins,  and  Bellamy.  The  contract  of 
salvation  according  to  this  last,  is  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  "  ex- 
ternally and  visibly  sealed,  ratified,  and  confirmed,  on  both  sides, 
with  as  much  formality  as  any  written  instrument  is  mutually 
sealed  by  the  parties,  in  any  covenant  among  men.  And  now 
if  both  parties  are  sincere  in  the  covenant  thus  sealed,  and  if 
both  abide  by  and  act  according  to  it,  the  communicant  will 
be  saved  "    So  the  sacrament  is  allowed  to  be  exhibitional ;  not 

11 


122  THE    MYSTICAL    TRESENCE. 

however  of  any  actual  present  substance,  as  the  old  doctrine 
always  held ;  but  only  in  the  way  of  figure,  shadow  or  sign.  A 
picture  or  statue  may  be  said  to  exhibit  their  original,  to  the 
same  extent.  The  sacramental  elements  are  Christ's  proxy. 
"  Or  the  matter  may  be  more  fitly  represented  by  this  similitude: 
it  is  as  if  a  prince  should  send  an  ambassador  to  a  woman  in  a 
foreign  land,  proposing  marriage,  and  by  his  ambassador  should 
send  her  his  picture^  &c."  Edwards. — With  Dr.  D wight  the 
sacrament  is  reduced  fully  to  the  character  of  a  mere  occasion, 
by  which  religious  affections  are  excited  and  supported  in  the 
breast  of  the  worshipper.  He  seems  to  have  no  idea  at  all  of 
an  objective  force,  belonging  to  the  institution  in  its  owrt  nature. 
All  is  subjective,  and  subjective  only.  All  turns  on  the  adapta- 
tion of  the  rite  to  instruct  and  affect.  He  measures  its  wisdom 
and  power,  wholly  by  this  standard.  It  is  admirably  contrived 
to  work  upon  "  the  senses,  the  imagination,  and  the  heart,"  as 
well  as  to  '*  enlighten  the  understanding."  Its  whole  force, 
when  all  is  done,  is  the  amount  simply  of  the  good  thoughts, 
good  feelings,  and  good  purposes,  that  are  brought  to  it,  and 
made  to  go  along  with  it,  on  the  part  of  the  worshippers  them- 
selves. 

4.  According  to  the  old  Reformed  doctrine  the  invisible  gracen, 
of  the  sacrament,  includes  a  real  participation  in  his  ptrson. 
That  which  is  made  present  to  the  believer,  is  the  very  life  of 
Christ  himself  in  its  true  power  and  substance.  The  doctrine 
proceeds  on  the  assumption,  that  the  Christian  salvation  stands 
in  an  actual  union  between  Christ  and  his  people,  mystical  but 
in  the  highest  sense  real,  in  virtue  of  which  they  are  as  closely 
joined  to  liim,  as  the  limbs  are  to  the  head  in  the  natural  body. 
They  are  in  Him,  and  He  is  in  them,  not  figuratively  but  truly; 
in  the  way  of  a  growing  process  that  will  become  complete 
finally  in  the  resurrection.  The  power  of  this  fact  is  myste- 
riously concentrated  in  the  Holy  Supper.  Here  Christ  commu- 
nicates himself  to  his  Church  ;  not  simply  a  right  to  the  grace 
that  resides  in  his  j)crson,  or  an  interest  by  outward  grant  in  the 
benefits  of  his  life  and  death;  but  his  person  itself,  as  the 
ground  and  fountain,  from  which  all  these  other  blessintjs 
may  be  expected  to  flow.  This  idea  is  exhibited  under  all  forms 
in  which  it  could  well  be  presented,  and  in  terms  the  most  clear 
and  explicit.  Christ  first,  and  then  his  benefits.  Calvin  will 
hear  of  no  other  order  but  this.  The  same  view  runs-  tlirouiih 
all  the  Calvinistic  symbols.  Not  a  title  to  Christ  in  his  benefits,, 
the  cflicacy  of  his  atonement,  the  work  of  his  spirit ;  but  a  true 
property  in  his  life  itself,  out  of  which  only  that  other  title  can 
legitimately  spring.  "  We  are  (|uickenr(j  by  a  real  participation 
of  him,  whicli  he  designates  by  the  terms  eating  and  drinking 


MODERN    1-URlTAN    THEORY. 


129 


that  no  person  might  suppose  the  life  which  we  receive  from 
him  to  consist  in  simple  knowledge."  Calvin.  We  communi- 
cate with  Christ's  substance.  *'  A  substantial  communication  is 
affirmed  by  me  everywhere."  Id — "He  nourishes  and  vivifies 
us  byUhe  substance  of  his  body  and  blood."  Crallic  Confession. — 
*'  It  is  not  only  to  embrace  with  a  believing  lieart  all  the  suffer- 
ings and  death  of  Christ,  and  thereby  to  obtain  the  pardon  of 
sin  and  life  eternal ;  but  also  besides  that  to  become  more  and 
more  united  to  his  sacred  body,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  &c." 
Heidelberg  Catechism.—''  We  teach  that  he  is  present  and 
united  with  us  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  albeit  his  body  be  far  absent 
from  us."  Ur sinus. — "  In  the  Supper  we  are  made  partakers, 
not  only  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  his  satisfaction,  justice, 
virtue,  and  operation  ;  but  also  of  the  very  substance  and 
essence  of  his  true  body  and  blood,  &c."  Td. — "  Christ  cruci- 
fied, and  all  benefits  of  his  death."  Westminster  Confession.— 
"  It  is  on  all  sides  plainly  confessed,  that  this  sacrament  is  a 
true  and  a  real  participation  of  Christ,  who  thereby  imparteth 
himself,  even  his  whole  entire  person,  as  a  mystical  head,  unto 
every  soul  that  receiveth  him,  and  that  every  such  receiver  doth 
incorporate  or  unite  himself  unto  Christ  as  a  mystical  member 
of  him."  Hooker.— A  peculiar  exhibition  of  Christ  under  out- 
ward sio-ns,  •''  and  a  mysterious  reception  of  him  in  them  really, 
so  as  to  come  to  a  real  substantial  incorporation  in  our  souls." 
Given. 

As  the  modern  Puritan  theory  eviscerates  the  institution  of 
all  objective  force,  under  any  view,  it  must  of  course  still  more 
decidedly  refuse  to  admit  the  idea  of  any  such  virtue  belonging 
to  it  as  that  now  mentioned.  The  union  of  the  believer  with 
Christ  it  makes  to  be  moral  only ;  or  at  least  a  figurative  in- 
corporation with  his  Spirit!*  The  sacred  Supper  forms  an 
occasion,  by  which  the  graces  of  the  pious  communicant  are 
called  into  favourable  exercise;  and  his  faith  in  particular  is 
assisted  in  apprehending  and  appropriating  the  precious  con- 
tents of  the  Christian  salvation,  as  wrought  out  by  the  Re- 
deemer's life  and  death!  He  participates  in  this  way  in  the 
fruits  of  Christ's  love,  the  benefits  of  his  mediatorial  work,  his 
imputed  righteousness,  his  heavenly  intercession,  the  influences 
of  his  Spirit,  &c.  ;  but  in  the  substantial  life  of  Christ  himself 
he  has  no  part  whatever.     "  A  mutual  solemn  profession  of  the 

*  The  insufficient  and  contradictory  character  of  the  representations,  by 
which  it  is  attempted  in  part  to  uphold  the  idea  of  a  real  union  with  Christ,  on 
the  basis  of  this  theology,  will  be  noticed  in  another  place.  To  a  great  extent, 
the  idea  seems  not  to  be  acknowledged  at  all.     The  whole  is  made  to  be  a^ 
soit  of  biblical  figure,  which  only  the  most  mystical  imagination  might  be  ex-    i 
pected  to  understand  in  any  literal  sense. 


124  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

two  parties  transacting  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  visibly  united 
in  that  covenant."  Eclwards. — So  also  Hopkins  and  Bellamy, 
'*  Sensible  impressions  are  much  more  powerful  than  those 
which  are  made  on  the  understanding,  &c,"  Dwight. — **  The 
ends  proposed  in  the  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper  are,  the 
enlargement  and  rectification  of  our  views  concerning  the  noblest 
of  all  subjects,  the  purification  of  our  affections  and  the  amend- 
ment of  our  lives."  Id. — ''  Stript  of  all  metaphorical  terms, 
the  action  must  mean  that  in  the  believing  and  grateful  com- 
memoration of  his  death,  we  enjoy  the  blessings  which  were 
purchased  by  it,  in  the  same  manner  in  which  we  enjoj  them 
when  we  exercise  faith  in  hearing  the  Gospel."  Dick. — "  No 
man  who  admits  that  the  bread  and  wine  are  only  signs  and 
figures,  can  consistently  suppose  the  words,  1  Cor.  x.  16,  to  have 
any  other  meaning,  than  that  we  have  communion  with  Christ  in 
the  fruits  of  his  sufferings  and  death;  or  that  receiving  the  sym- 
bols \ve  receive  by  faith  the  benefits  procured  by  the  pains  of  his 
body  and  the  effusion  of  his  blood."  Id. — Christ's  ''doctrine 
is  truly  that  which  will  give  life  to  the  soul."  Barnes.—''  To 
dwell  or  abide  in  him,  is  to  remain  in  the  belief  of  his  doctrine 
and  in  the  participation  of  all  the  benefits  of  his  death."  Id. — 
*'  The  whole  design  of  the  sacramental  bread,  is  by  a  striking 
emblem  to  call  to  rrmenihranccy  in  a  vivid  manner,  the  dying  suf- 
ferings of  onr  Lord."     Id. 

5.  In  the  old  Reformed  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  com- 
munion of  the  believer  in  the  true  person  of  Christ,  in  the  form 
now  stated,  is  supposed  to  hold  with  him  especially  as  the  Word 
made  flesh.  His  humanity  forms  the  medium  of  his  union  with 
the  Church.  The  life  of  which  he  is  the  fountain,  flows  forth 
from  him  only  as  he  is  the  Son  of  Man.  To  have  part  in  it  at 
all,  we  must  have  part  in  it  as  a  real  human  life;  we  must  eat 
his  flesh  and  drink  his  blood  ;  take  into  us  the  substance  of  what 
he  was  as  man ;  so  as  to  become  flesh  of  his  flesh  and  bone  of 
his  bones.  **  The  very  flesh  in  which  he  dwells  is  made  to  be 
vivific  for  us,  that  we  may  be  nourished  by  it  to  immortality," 
Calvin. — "This  sacred  communication  of  his  flesh  and  blood, 
in  which  Christ  transfuses  his  life  into  us,  just  as  if  he  penetrated 
our  bones  and  marrow,  he  testifies  and  seals  also  in  the  Holy 
Supper."  Id. — "  I  do  not  teach  that  Christ  dwells  in  us  simply 
by  his  Spirit,  but  that  he  so  raises  us  to  himself  as  to  transfuse 
into  us  the  vivific  vigor  of  his  flesh"  Id.* — *'  The  very  substance 

*  Vitam  spiritualem  quam  nobis  Christus  largitur,  non  in  eo,  dnntaxat  sitam 
esse  confitemur,  quod  spiritu  suo  vivificat,  sed  qnod  spiritus  etiain  sui  virtute 
carnis  sua?  vivificie  nos  (hcit  i)articipes,  qua  participatione  in  vitam  a;ternani 
pascamur.  Itaque  cum  de  communione  quam  cum  Cfiristo  fideles  habent 
loquimur,   non  minus  carni  ct  sanguini  ejus  communicare  ipsos  intelligimus 


MODERN    PURITAN    THEORY.  125 

itself  of  the  Son  of  Man."  Beza  and  Fard.—^^  That  same  sub 
stance  which  he  took  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin,  and  wliicli  he 
carried  up  into  heaven."  Brza  and  Peter  Marty r.~^^,U  tlic 
eternal  deity  has  imparted  life  and  immortality  to  the  llesh  o 
Jesus  Christ,  so  likewise  his  flesh  and  blood,  when  eaten  anc 
drunk  by  us,  confer  upon  us  the  same  prerogatives."  Old  Scotch 
Confession.—''  That  which  is  eaten  is  the  very,  natural  body  ol 
Christ,  and  what  is  drunk  his  true  blood."  Be/gic  Confession.— 
"  Flesh  of  his  flesh  and  bone  of  his  bone  ....  We  are  as  reall}^ 
partakers  of  his  true  body  and  blood,  as  we  receive  these  hoi) 
signs."  Heidelberg  Catechism.— '' \Ye  are  in  such  sort  coupled 
knit,  and  incorporated  into  his  true,  essential  human  body,  b^ 
his  Spirit  dwelling  both  in  him  and  us,  that  we  are  flesh  of  his 
flesh  and  bone  of  his  bones."  Ursimis.—''  They  that  worthily 
communicate  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  do  therein 
feed  upon  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ— truly  and  really." 
Westminster  Catechism. 

.    All  this  the  modern  Puritan  view  utterly  repudiates,  as  semi- 
j)opish  mysticism.     It  will  allow  no  real  participation  of  Christ's 
person  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  under  any  form :  but  least  of  all 
under  the  form  of  his  humanity.     Such  communion  as  it  is  will- 
ing to  admit,  it  limits  to  the  presence  of  Christ  in  his  divine  na- 
ture, or  to   the  energy  he  puis  forth   by  his  Spirit.  •:    As  for  all 
that  IS  said  about  his  body  and  blood,  it  is  taken  to  be  mere 
figure,  intended  to  express  the  value  of  his  sufl^erings  and  death. 
With  his  body  in  the  strict  sense,  his  life  as  incarnate,  formerly 
on  earth  and  now  in  heaven,  we  can  have  no  communion  at  all, 
except  in   the  way  of  remembering  what  was  endured   in  it  for 
our  salvation.     The  flesh  in  any  other  view  profiteth  nothing; 
It  IS  only  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth.     The  language  of  the  Cal- 
vinistic  confessions  on  this  subject,  is  resolved  into  bold,  violent 
metaphor,  that  comes  in  the  end  to  mean  almost  nothing.     ''  If 
he  (Calvin)  meant  that  there  is  some  mysterious  communication 
with  his  human  nature,  we  must  be  permitted  to  say  the  notion 
was   as  incomprehensible  to   himself  as  it  is  to   his   readers." 
Dick. — "  There  is  an  absurdity  in  the  notion   that  there  is  any 
communion  with  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  considered  in 
themselves."  Id.—''  Justly  does  our  Confession  of  Faith  declare, 
that  the  body  and   blood  of  Christ   are   as  realli/,  but  spiritually 

present  to  the  faith  of  believers,  &c What  blessed  visions 

of  faith  are  those,  in  which  this  precious  grace  creates  an  ideal 

quam  spiritui,  ut  ita  totum  Christum  possideant.— Hanc  autem  carnis  et  san- 
guMus  sui  communionem  Christus  sub  pauis  et  vini  symbolis  in  sarro  eancta 
sua  ccena  oflert  et  exhibet  omnibus,  qui  cam  rite  celebrant  juxta  legitimum 
ejus  institutum.  Confessio  Fidei  de  Eucharistia,  exhibited  by  Farel,  Calvin  and 
y  tret,  a.  lo37. 

11* 


126  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

presence  of  the  suffering,  bleeding,  dying,  atoning  Saviour! 
Then  Gethsemane,  and  Pilate's  hall,  and  the  cross,  the  thorny 
crown,  the  nails,  the  spear,  the  hill  of  Calvary,  are  in  present 
view!"  Green. — "This  broken  bread  shows  the  mantier  in 
which  my  body  will  be  broken  ;  or  this  will  serve  to  call  my 
dying  sufferings  to  youx  remembrance."  Barms. 

LfCt  this  suffice  in  the  way  of  comparison.  The  two  theories, 
it  is  clear,  are  different  throughout.  Nor  is  the  difference  such 
as  may  be  considered  of  small  account.  It  is  not  simply  formal 
or  accidental.  The  modern  Puritan  view  evidently  involves  a 
material  falling  away,  not  merely  from  the  form  of  the  old  Cal- 
vinistic  doctrine,  but  from  its  inward  life  and  force.  It  makes 
a  great  difference  surely,  whether  the  union  of  the  believer  with 
Christ  be  regarded  as  the  power  of  one  and  the  same  life,  or  as 
holding  only  in  a  correspondence  of  thought  and  feeling; 
whether  the  Lord's  Supper  be  a  sign  and  seal  only  of  God's 
grace  in  general,  or  the  pledge  also  of  a  special  invisible  grace 
present  in  the  transaction  itself;  and  whether  we  are  united  by 
means  of  it  to  the  person  of  Christ,  or  only  to  his  merits;  and 
whether  finally  we  communicate  in  the  ordinance  with  the  whole 
Christ,  in  a  real  way,  or  only  with  his  divinity.  Such,  however, 
is  the  difference  that  stares  us  in  the  face,  from  the  comparison 
now  made.  All  must  see  and  feel  that  it  exists,  and  that  it  is 
serious. 

Under  this  view  then  simply  the  subject  is  entitled  to  earnest 
attention.  Apart  from  all  judgment  upon  the  character  of  the 
change  which  has  taken  place,  the  fact  itself  is  one  that  may 
well  challenge  consideration.  We  have  no  right  to  overlook  it, 
or  to  treat  it  as  though  it  did  not  exist.  We  have  no  right  to 
hold  it  unimportant,  or  to  take  it  for  granted  with  unreflecting 
presumption  that  the  truth  is  all  on  the  modern  side.  The  mere 
fact  is  serious.  For  the  doctrine  of  the  eucharist  lies  at  the  very 
heart  of  Christianity  itself;  and  the  chasm  that  divides  the  two 
systems  here  is  wide  and  deep.  For  churches  that  claim  to  re- 
present, by  true  and  legitimate  succession,  the  life  of  the  Refor- 
mation under  its  best  form,  the  subject  is  worthy  of  being  laid 
to  heart.  Only  ignorance  or  frivolity  can  allow  themselves  to 
make  light  of  it. 


MODEUN    PURITAN    THEORY.  127 


SECTION  III. 

FAITH    OF    THE    EARLY    CHURCH. 

A  STRONG  presumption  is  furnished  against  the  modern  Puri- 
tan doctrine,  as  compared  with  the  Calvinistic  or  Reformed,  in 
the  fact  that  the  first  may  be  said  to  be  of  yesterday  only  in  the 
history  of  the  Church,  while  the  last,  so  far  as  the  difference  in 
question  is  concerned,  has  been  the  faith  of  nearly  the  whole 
Christian  world  from  the  beginning.  It  included  indeed  a  pro- 
test against  the  errors  with  which  the  truth  had  been  overlaid  in 
the  church  of  Rome.  It  rejected  transubstantiation  and  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  mass,-  and  refused  to  go  with  Luther  in  his  dogma 
of  a  local  presence.  But  in  all  this  it  formed  no  rupture  with 
the  original  doctrine  of  the  Church.  That  which  had  consti- 
tuted the  central  idea  of  this  doctrine  from  the  first,  and  which 
appears  even  under  the  perversions  that  have  just  been  named, 
it  still  continued  to  hold  with  a  firm  grasp.  It  is  this  central 
idea,  the  true  and  proper  substance  of  the  ancient  church  faith 
precisely,  that  created  the  diflference  between  the  Reformed  doc- 
trine and  the  modern  Puritan.  In  the  Reformed  system  it  is 
present  in  all  its  force ;  in  the  other  it  is  wanting.  The  voice 
of  antiquity  is  all  on  the  side  of  the.  Sixteenth  Century,  in  its 
high  view  of  the  sacrament.  To  the  low  view  which  has  since 
come  to  prevail,  it  lends  no  support  whatever. 

It  is  granted  readily,  that  the  view  taken  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per in  the  early  Church,  as  represented  to  us  in  the  writings  of 
the  fathers,  is  by  no  means  free  from  obscurity  and  contradic- 
tion. It  is  not  from  the  infancy  of  the  Church  in  any  case,  that 
we  are  to  look  for  clear  and  satisfactory  statements  of  theological 
truth.  The  fathers  form  no  binding  authority  for  the  faith  of 
later  times  in  this  view;  although  it  does  not  follow  immedi- 
ately from  such  a  concession,  that  we  are  at  liberty  to  despise  or 
overlook  their  authority  entirely  ;  just  as  little  as  it  could  be 
counted  rational  for  a  man  in  advanced  life,  to  affect  an  utter 
independence  of  his  own  childhood,  because  it  is  found  to  have 
been  characterized  by  all  manner  of  imperfections  and  mistakes. 
JDoctrines,  in  the  Church,  have  their  separate  history.  The  life 
find  power  of  the  truth  they  express  has  been  present  from  the 
beginning;  but  centuries  have  been  needed  to  give  them  their 
proper  form  for  the  understanding.  It  constitutes  then  no  ob- 
jection whatever  to  an  established  article  of  the  Christian  creed, 


12S  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

the  doctrine  of  the  true  and  proper  divinity  of  Christ  for  instance, 
or  the  doctrine  of  total  depravity  and  free  grace,  that  testimonies 
may  be  gathered  from  the  earlier  fathers,  which  seem  to  conflict 
with  it,  or  at  least  to  show  it  of  nncertain  authority.  All  such 
confusion  and  contradiction  serve  only  to  show,  that  the  article 
in  question  had  not  at  the  time  evolved  itself  for  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  Church  into  the  clear  theological  form,  in  which  it 
was  subsequently  held.  The  confusion  impairs  not  on  the  one 
hand  the  credit  of  the  doctrine,  and  brings  no  fair  reproach  upon 
the  witnessing  authorities  in  the  case  on  the  other.  It  is  enough 
that  we  find  them  true  to  the  inward  soul  and  substance  of  the 
Christian  faith;  though  they  may  fall  short  of  its  full  and  proper 
expression;  while  it  must  be  regarded  always  as  a  fair  lest  of 
the  correctness  of  any  later  statement,  claiming  to  be  the  expres- 
sion required,  that  it  shall  be  found  to  take  up  and  preserve  the 
substance  at  least  of  the  same  life  that  is  presented  in  the  earlier 
creed.  Thus  in  the  case  before  us,  the  weight  and  significance 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  are  not  to  be  measured  precisely,  by  the 
terms  in  which  we  find  it  spoken  of  in  the  early  Church.  We 
need  not  be  surprised  either  to  meet  with  some  confusion  and 
contradiction,  in  the  testimony  furnished  by  the  fathers  on  the 
subject  of  the  ordinance,  its  nature  and  design.  The  doctrine 
of  the  eucharist,  like  every  other  Ciu'istian  doctrine,  has  a  his- 
tory. Its  history  moreover  has  proceeded  through  error;  and 
it  must  be  allowed,  that  the  principle  of  this  error  began  to  work 
at  a  very  early  period.  All  this  is  to  be  taken  into  consideration, 
when  we  carry  our  appeal  in  the  present  case  to  the  first  ages  of 
the  Church,  But  all  this  can  never  form  a  suflicient  reason,  for 
treating  the  authority  of  these  ages  wiih  inditference  or  contempt. 
Allowing  their  testimony  to  be  imperfect,  confused,  and  not 
always  consistent  with  itself;  admitting  too  that  as  we  advance 
into  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  we  are  met  with  forms  of 
thinking  and  speaking  that  look  directly  towards  the  great  error 
of  transubstantiation  ;  we  have  still  no  right  to  assume  that  the 
Church  in  the  beginning  had  no  faith  that  could  be  counted  real 
and  substantial,  in  the  case  of  the  eucharist,  or  that  this  faith 
included  in  no  sense  the  truth  as  it  has  been  of  force  for  the 
Church  since.  In  the  midst  of  all  errors  and  contradictions,  the 
early  Church  must  have  been  in  possession  of  the  truth,  here  as  at 
other  points,  at  least  in  its  essential  power  and  life.  Running 
through  all,  there  must  be  a  certain  fundamental  substratum,  in 
which  the  true  idea  of  the  sacrament  was  always  at  hand,  and 
which  the  Church  is  bound  accordingly,  through  all  ages,  to 
respect  in  this  light. 

Now   it   is  very  certain  that   the  early  fathers  do  not  teach 
either  transubstantiation  or  consubstantiation.     There  is  not  a 


MODERN    PURITAN    TIIEORJ^.  129 

passage  which  can  be  quoted  from  the  first  three  centuries,  that 
yields  the  least  support,  on  any  fair  interpretation,  to  either  of 
these  dogmas;  while  the  general  testimony  of  the  period  contra- 
dicts both  in  explicit  terms.  We  may  say  too,  that  in  the  period 
following,  on  to  the  time  of  Paschasius  Radbert,  in  the  ninth 
century,  the  case  continues  the  same;  although  undoubtedly  a 
style  of  speaking  was  now  introduced,  that  seems  often  to  coun- 
tenance in  full,  if  not  pointedly  to  affirm,  the  superstition  that 
was  afterwards  openly  proclaimed  as  the  creed  of  the  Church. 
The  sacramental  doctrine  of  the  early  Church  recognized  no 
local  presence  of  Christ's  body  in  the  elements,  no  merely  oral 
communication,  nothing  like  a  magical  virtue  in  the  use  of  the 
ordinance  outwardly  considered.  But  just  as  little,  on  the 
other  hand,  did  it  foil  over  to  the  opposite  extreme  of  making 
the  ordinance  a  mere  representation  of  spiritual  blessings  to  the 
mind  of  the  worshipper.  From  the  beginning  evidently  it  was 
felt  to  be  more  than  this.  It  was  regarded  as  a  mystery,  in 
which  was  involved  the  inmost  life  of  the  gospel,  and. a  form  of 
communion  with  the  Saviour  altogether  peculiar  and  extraordi- 
nary. We  find  it  accordingly  exalted  and  honoured  as  the  cen- 
tral service  in  the  Christian  worship,  around  which  all  other 
services  were  made  to  revolve,  and  from  which  they  might  be 
said  to  borrow  all  their  light.  The  elements  were  more  than 
memorials  simply  and  signs.  They  were  made  to  bear  the 
designation  of  the  Lord's  body  and  blood,  in  the  way  of  com- 
mon liturgical  expression ;  which  could  not  have  been  the  case, 
if  they  had  not  been  regarded  as  the  actual  exhibition  of  his 
person,  in  a  mystery,  under  this  form.  The  same  thing  is  clear 
from  utterances  of  a  more  direct  nature,  with  regard  to  the  pecu- 
liar power  of  the  institution  ;  all  serving  to  show  in  the  breast  of 
the  Church,  from  the  first,  the  feeling  that  the  eucharist  includes 
in  its  very  constitution  a  real  communion  with  the  whole  person 
of  Christ,  as  the  ground  of  all  interest  on  the  part  of  the  believer 
in  his  benefits.  This  idea,  in  the  course  of  time,  carried  the 
faith  of  Christendom  quite  over  to  the  absurdity  of  transubstan-- 
tiation ;  which  itself,  however,  only  serves  to  illustrate  the  force 
with  which  it  wrought  as  an  essential,  constituent  part  of  the 
Christian  consciousness  from  the  beginning.  If  Christianity  had 
not  included  in  its  very  nature  the  idea  of  a  true  substantial 
union  with  the  human  life  of  Christ,  not  only  signified  but  em- 
bodied and  made  actual  in  the  mystery  of  the  Supper,  such  a 
superstition  as  that  maintained  by  the  Church  of  Rome  could 
never  have  come  to  prevail.  The  simple  fact  that  the  early 
sacramental  doctrine  was  carried  regularly  forward,  by  perver- 
sion, to  this  extraordinary  and  monstrous  result,  is  itself  evidence 
satisfactory  that  the  doctrine  always  contained  the  idea,  out  of 


130 


TIIF-    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


which  only  it  was  possible  for  any  such  abuse  to  spring.     Had 
the  low  view  of  the  sacraments  with  which  many  are  satisfied  ail 
the  present  time  prevailed  in  the  faith  of  the  primitive  Church, 
such  an  error  as  that  which  supposes  an  actual  change  of  the; 
elements  into  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  could  never  have 
appeared. 

The  early  fathers  speak  of  the  eucharist  frequently  as  an 
offering  or  oblation;    never,  however,  in  the  sense  in  which  it 
came  to  be  so  regarded  in  the  later  Catholic  Church.     It  was 
viewed  in  this  case  merely  as  an  act  of  Christian  worship,  in' 
which  the  congregation  joyfully  recognized  the  goodness  of  God  | 
as  displayed  in  the  natural  creation,  and  rendered  praise  to  him' 
especially  for  the  grace  of  redemption  bestowed  upon  the  world! 
through   his   Son   Jesus  Christ.     In   this  last  direction,  it  was! 
regarded,  of  course,  also  as  a  memorial  of  the  Saviour,  by  which! 
the  lively  recollection  of  his  person,  and  particularly  of  his  suffer- 
ings and  death,  was  to  be  perpetuated  in  the  Church  to  the  end 
of  time.     But  this  all  formed  only  one  side  of  the  Christian  con-' 
sciousness  in  the  case.     Even  as  an  act  of  thanksgiving  and 
commemoration,  the  service  included  a  special  reference  to  the 
death  of  Christ  as  a  propitiation  for  sin  ;   something  therefore  to; 
be  reached  and  appropriated  by  the  spirit  of  the  worshipper,  as; 
the  indispensable  condition  of  his  own  life.     It  was  felt  to  be 
more  then  than  a  mere  occasion  for   the  exercise  of  common 
recollection  or  imagination:  it  demanded  /rzzV/i  on  the  part  of 
the  worshipper,  and  was  felt  at  the  same  time  to  embody  an  ob-' 
jective  exhibition  of  the  great  Christian  sacrifice  in  the  way  of 
actual  pledge  and  seal,  for  the  benefit  of  the  soul  in  which  such 
faith  was  at  hand.     This  relation,  however,  was  found  to  involve, 
to  tlxe  apprehension  of  the  Church,  a  connection  with  the  Sa-| 
viour  still   more   intimate  and  close.     To  have  part  truly  and 
fully  in  the  virtue  of  his  atonement,  it  was  felt  that  there' must! 
be  a  real   participation   also  in  the  life  of   his   person.      This 
formed   accordingly  the  other  side  of  the  Christian  conscious- 
ness, in  the  period  to  which  we  refer;    and   both  conceptions 
must  be  joined  together,  in  order  that  we  may  understand  and 
interpret  it  fairly,  in  relation   to   the  point  with  which  we  are 
now  concerned. 

It  will  be  found  now,  on  proper  investigation,  that  the  viewofi 
the  eucharist  held  in  the  early  Church  includes  throughout, 
along  with  that  reference  to  the  virtue  of  Christ's  atonement 
which  has  been  mentioned,  this  idea  also  of  a  real  communica- 
tion with  h'xspcrson,  as  the  only  ground  on  which  the  other  bene- 
fit can  become  available.  The  idea  in  some  cases  may  be  in  a 
measure  thrown  into  the  shade ;  but  it  never  |)asses  wholly  out 
of  sight;   while  for  the  most  part  it  stands  forth  with  such  pro- 


MODERN  PURITAN  THEORY.  131 

minence,  as  to  leave  no  room  whatever  to  question  its  pre- 
sence.* 

Ignatius  speaks  of  the  eucharist  [ep.  ad  Smyrii.  c.  7.)  as  the 
flesh  of  Christ,  that  suffered  for  our  sins  and  was  raised  again 
by  the  goodness  of  the  Father.  This  does  not  imply  that  he 
supposed  the  body  of  Christ  to  be  in  the  bread.  We  know  he 
did  not.  But  the  language  here  employed,  which  must  be  con- 
sidered true  to  the  general  view  of  the  Church  at  the  time,  serves 
to  show  with  what  force  the  feeling  prevailed  that  the  things 
represented  by  the  signs  in  the  Lord's  Supper  were  so  bound  to 
them  inwardly,  as  to  form  in  some  sense  one  and  the  same  pre- 
sence. So  when  he  styles  the  bread  [cp.  ad  Ephrs.  c.  20,)  "the 
medicine  of  inmiortality,  the  antidote  of  death,"  it  does  not 
indeed  imply  that  he  considered  the  reception  of  Christ's  body 
into  the  believer's  person  the  means  physically  of  his  resurrec- 
tion ;  but  it  certainly  does  show  this  much  at  least,  that  some- 
thing more  was  felt  to  be  involved  in  the  sacramental  service, 
than  a  mere  thinking  of  Christ  and  his  mediatorial  work.  The 
sacrament  is  viewed  as  carrying  in  itself  objectively  the  power 
to  unite  us  with  the  atonement  of  Christ,  by  making  us  one  with 
him  in  his  life.  It  is  the  antidote  of  death,  as  it  causes  us  to 
*'  live  always  in  Jesus  Christ." 

Justin  Martyr  (Apol.I.c.  iSQ,)  tells  us  that  the  eucharist  was 
not  received  by  Christians  as  common  bread  or  commoti  drink; 
but  that  as  Jesus  Christ  himself  became  flesh  for  our  salvation, 


*  For  an  able  and  full  exposition  of  this  point,  the  reader  is  referred  to  a 
recent  work,  Das  Dogma  vom  heiligen  Ahcndmahl  und  seine  Ge^chichte,  von 
Dr.  August  Ebrard.  Frankfurt  a  M.  1S45.  Dr  Ebrard  is  Professor  of  The- 
ology, at  Z'jrich,  in  the  service,  of  course,  of  the  Reformed  Churcli.  His 
work  is  intended  to  be  a  vindication  of  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  theory  of 
the  Eucliarist,  in  its  substance,  as  distinguislied  from  what  is  styled  the  Old 
Liitiieran  view;  and  it  carries  throughout,  on  this  account,  a  somewhat 
polemical  reference  in  this  direction.  The  ultimate  design  of  it,  however,  is 
ireiiical  ;  as  the  author  supposes  tiiat  the  case  is  one  which  admits  of  recon- 
ciliation, and  tliat  all  that  is  needed  for  this  purpose  is  such  a  statement  of 
the  doctrine  as  may  relieve  it  from  what  may  be  regarded  as  merely  accidental 
objections  on  both  sides.  He,  of  course,  maintains  a  real  communion  with 
Chrisfs  whole  life,  in  the  new  nature  of  the  Christjan  generally,  and  in  the 
transaction  of  the  sacrament  in  particular.  This  is  something  certainly  that 
deserves  to  be  noted,  as  proceeding  from  the  very  heart  of  the  original  Swiss 
Reformation,  and  the  theological  chair,  we  may  say,  of  Zuingli  himself.  It 
serves  to  show  how  powerfidly  the  tide  of  evangelical  thinking  has  come, 
to  set  in,  at  this  time,  in  the  direction  here  taken.  I  need  not  say,  that  it  has 
been  pnrticularly  encouraging  to  me,  to  meet  with  this  publication  in  the 
course  of  the  present  work  ;  maintaining  as  it  does,  substantially,  the  same 
view  of  Christ's  presence  in  the  Eucharist,  though  constructed  on  a  wholly 
[dilFerent  plan,  and  in  view  also  of  altogether  dilFerent  relations.  I  regret, 
'however,  that  the  second  volume,  which  was  to  have  appeared  some  months 
ago,  exhibiting  the  history  of  the  iloctrine  since  the  Reformation^  has  not  yet 
come  into  my  hands. 


132  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

SO  it  was  held  tliat  the  consecrated  food  in  this  solemnity  is  hi 
flesh  and  blood.  His  meariing  is,  that  in  partaking  of  the  one 
we  partake  of  the  other  also  in  a  mystery,  to  the  sustentation  o 
that  new  life  which  is  communicated  to  us  by  Christ. 

Ircndeus  seems  to  go  farther  still,  and  to  teach  that  the  breac 
and  wine  in  the  eucharist  are  so  pervaded  with  the  very  bod; 
and  blood  of  Christ,  as  to  become  by  physical  incorporation  th( 
source  of  immortality  to  the  body  of  the  believer.  By  a  prope 
comparison,  however,  of  one  passage  with  another,  it  appear; 
that  this  could  not  have  been  his  meaning.  But  it  is  thus  made 
only  so  much  the  more  certain,  that  he  considered  the  participa 
tion  of  the  sacramental  bread  and  wine  to  be  a  participation,  ai 
the  same  time,  of  the  person  of  Christ,  in  virtue  of  which  th. 
body  itself,  in  the  case  of  the  true  Christian,  is  made  to  havt 
part  in  his  nature,  and  so  in  that  eternal  life  of  which  he  is  the 
fountain.  "  As  the  bread  out  of  the  earth,"  he  tells  us,  (Adv 
ha^r.  IV.  18,  5,)  "  after  its  consecration,  is  no  longer  commoi: 
bread,  but  the  eucharist,  consisting  of  two  things,  an  earthly  anc 
a  heavenly  ;  so  also  our  bodies,  when  they  partake  of  the  eucha- 
rist, are  no  longer  mortal,  having  the  hope  of  the  resurrection  tc 
life  everlasting."  Again  (Adv.  haer.  V.  2,  3):  "As  the  slip  ol 
the  vine  inserted  in  the  ground  has  in  its  own  time  brought  forti 
fruit,  and  the  grain  of  wheat  falling  into  earth  and  undergoing 
dissolution  has  been  raised  up  with  multiplication' by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  through  whom  all  things  consist;  and  these,  made  meet 
afterwards,  in  God's  wisdom,  for  man's  use,  and  having  added  tc 
them  the  word  of  divine  consecration,  become  the  eucharist] 
which  is  Christ's  body  and  blood  ;  so  in  like  manner  our  bodies 
are  nourished  by  this,  and  after  they  are  buried  and  dissolved  in 
the  earth,  shall  in  their  own  time  rise  again,  the  divine  word 
imparting  to  them  the  resurrection."  Here  he  seems  to  identify 
the  elements  absolutely  with  Christ's  body  and  blood,  and  has 
been  supposed  by  some  to  teach  that  the  mere  oral  or  corporeal 
reception  of  them  served  to  convey  into  the  bodies  of  believers, 
in  a  p'fiysical  way,  the  virtue  of  innnortality.  But  other  passages 
show  that  such  was  not  his  meaning;  and,  even  in  these  quota- 
tions, it  is  clear  that  all  is  referred  to  the  word  of  God,  the  pre- 
sence of  a  higher  life',  that  is  felt  to  he  mystically  joined  with  the 
sacramental  symbols.  Hence  he  styles  the  bread  and  wine  else- 
where the  antitypes  of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  in  the  participation 
of  whicii  we  are  made  to  receive  the  remission  of  sins  and  life! 
everlasting.  This  term  ((imfivta)  was  frequently  applied  to  thel 
elements  in  the  early  Church.  \ 

The  view  represented  by  Ignatius,  Justin  Martyr,  and  Irenaeus, 
was  that  which  prevailed  most  generally,  according  to  Neander, 


MODERN    PURITAN    THEORY'.  133 

in  their  time.*  In  the  north  of  Africa,  as  represented  bv  Tertul- 
lian  and  Cyprian,  we  find  a  more  guarded  phraseology  in  rela- 
tion to  the  whole  subject.  The  bread  and  wine  are  more 
distinctly  exhibited  in  the  character  of  symbols,  and  no  room  is 
given  for  the  imagination  to  confound  them  with  the  actual  body 
and  blood  of  Christ.  Still  they  are  not  dead  symbols.  Along  with 
their  sacramental  use,  a  real  communication  with  the  body  and 
blood  they  represent  is  also  supposed  to  have  place ;  the  visible 
and  the  invisible  comprehended  in  the  same  transaction.  The 
practice  of  the  Church  may  itself  be  taken  as  an  evidence,  that  a 
high  sense  was  entertained  of  the  objective  virtue  of  the  sacra- 
ment; for  it  was  in  Northern  Africa  particularly,  that  daily 
communion  prevailed,  and  for  a  time  also  the  custom  of  extend- 
ing the  ordinance  even  to  infants.  TertuUiau,  indeed,  tells  us 
that  the  words  "  My  body,"  in  the  form  of  institution  mean, 
"The  figure  of  my  body;"  and  this  is  sufficient  to  show,  that  he 
had  no  thought  of  any  thing  like  an  actual  inclusion  of  Christ's 
body  in  the  bread. t     But  he  tells  us   elsewhere   again,  that  we 

*  Allg.  Gesch.  der  Chr.  Religion  und  Kirche.  2d  edit.  Hamburg,  1843. 
Vol.  ii,,  p.  1117-1120.  Neander  tells  us  that  the  view  represented  by  these 
fathers  involved  the  supposition  of  an  actual  corporeity  assumed  by  the  Logos 
immediately  in  the  sacrament  itself,  in  conjunction  with  the  elements,  and  in 
such  way  as  to  be  carried  over  with  them  into  the  bodies  of  believers  as  a 
^a^uazoi"  d^ra^iar  or  pabulum  of  immortality;  an  idea  which  he  admits, 
however,  was  not  distinctly  uttered  till  a  later  time.  It  lies,  he  thinks,  par- 
ticularly in  the  passage  of  Justin,  to  which  leference  has  already  been  made. 
(Apol.  i.  66,)  where  we  have  the  words  :  Ti^v  5t'  si'X^,?  "^yov  tov  tto^'  airov 
fvxo-^'-'Jrt^^eiaav  r^o^riv,  tl  rj  alua  xai  aa'^zf j  xata  ^fta3o7^r;v  t^i^apTai, 
/•ucur,  exiwov  tov  ca^x(^rioir^hii'toi  ^Ir^aov  xai  otx^xa  xai  Oiua  t^iBd^^r^fisif 
SLvai.  It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  this  is  very  obscure  evidence  of 
any  such  opinion.  Ebrard,  in  the  work  already  quoted,  shows  very  clearly 
that  these  early  fathers,  in  the  use  of  such  language,  did  not  intend  to  assert, 
what  their  language  at  times  might  seem  to  imply,  an  actual  corporealization 
of  Christ  in  any  way  in  the  elements,  but  simply  the  presence  of  his  body 
mystically  in  the  sacramental  transaction.  The  elements  were  constituted,  by* 
consecration,  the  "  body  and  blood"  of  Christ,  and  were  so  styled  in  the 
general  liturgical  phraseology;  thev  received  a  new  character  under  the 
eucharistic  benediction,  and  became  the  present  pledge  of  what  they  repre- 
sented ;  but  still,  they  remained,  in  their  own  substance,  bread  and  wine.  All 
goes  to  show,  however,  how  deep  was  the  feeling,  that  the  ordinance  com- 
prehended in  it  a  real  communion  with  the  life  of  Christ  ;  and  with  this  life, 
it  may  be  added,  under  its  human  form.  For  even  the  conception  mentioned 
by  Neander,  would  resolve  itself  at  last  simply  into  this,  that  Christ's  humanity 
must  extend  itself,  not  by  any  division  of  his  individual  person  but  in  the  way 
of  organic  reproduction,  into  the  persons  of  all  whom  he  will  thus  raise  up  at 
the  last  day.  His  life,  in  this  form,  is  the  true  fd^uaxov  d^iujids,  as  he 
says  expressly  himself  (John  vi.  54). 

t  Rudelbach,  in  his  work,  ^^Reformation, Lutherthum  und  Union,-'  Leipzig, 
1S39,  devotes  a  special  excursus  to  TertuUian- s  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ; 
in  which  he  labours  with  all  his  might  to  make  him  out  a  sound  Lutheran,  of 
the  old  stamp.  He  will  have  it  that  the  term  figure,  in  the  passage  here  re- 
ferred  to  (Adv.  Marc.  iv.  40),  denotes  the  actual  form  of  the  body  itself,  in  the 

12       . 


134  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCF. 

partake  in  the  Supper  of  *'  the  fatness  of  the  Lord's  body ;"  (De 
pudic,  cap.  9 ;)  and  that  the  flesh  is  fed  with  the  sacramental 
body  and  blood  of  Christ,  in  order  that  the  soul  also  may  be 
fat  from  God."  (De  resur.  cam.  cap.  8.)  While  in  another  con- 
nection he  makes  this  spiritual  nourishment  to  be  the  very  life 
of  Christ  himself,  when  he  teaches,  (De  orat.  c.  G,)  that  the 
petition  for  daily  bread  must  be  taken  mainly  in  a  spiritual 
sense;  as  Christ  is  the  proper  bread  of  life  according  to  his  own 
word,  and  as  signified  in  the  bread  of  the  eucharist;  so  that,  in 
praying,  Give  us  our  daily  bread,  "  perpetuitatem  poslulamus  in 
Christo,  et  individnitatem  a  corpore  ejus." 

The  Alexandrian  fathers,  Ckmenf,  and  more  particularly 
Origeu,  separate  of  course  still  more  widely  between  the  inward 
and  the  outward,  in  the  case  of  the  sacraments,  as  in  every  other 
case.  Their  tendency  was  always  to  an  extreme  spiritualism ; 
which,  with  Origen  especially,  came  near  to  making  the  whole 
Christian  revelation  little  better  than  a  splendid  philosophical 
allegory.  He  disparages  the  letter  continually,  for  the  purpose 
of  exalting  the  spirit.  So  in  the  case  of  the  eucharist,  he  goes  | 
so  far  as  to  make  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  nothing  more 
than  his  word.*  "His  great  object,"  says  Neander,  "  was  to 
withstand  the  idea  of  a  magical  etticiency  in  the  Supper,  sepa- 
rately considered — which  however  the  other  church  teachers  were 
far  from  holding;  but  his  view  opposed  in  fact  every  conception 
of  any  sort  of  higher  meaning  or  force  in  the  outward  signs,  even 
such  as  was  admitted  by  the  African  Church." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  this  view  found  compara- 
tively small  favour  in  the  ('hurch.  The  tendency,  indeed,  was 
already  towards  an  extreme  the  other  way.  We  cannot  say, that 
the  presence  of  Christ  was  as  yet  confounded  with  the  presence 
of  the  symbols,  by  which  it  was  represented;  but  the  feeling  was 
strong,  that  the  two  were  mystically  bound  together,  and  the 
language  employed  to  express  this  thought  became  always  more 
bold  and  absolute;  till  in  the  end  the  liturgical  appellation 
Christ's  "  body  and  blood,"  applied  to  the  bread  and  wine,  might 
almost  seem  to  have  been  taken  by  many,  even  long  before  the 

sense  of  its  reality  !  Tliis,  however,  would  bo  nothins;  less  than  transiibst.in- 
liation  itself.  Ebrard  exposes  the  extravagance  of  Ri)d«^lbacli  with  just  severity, 
(p.  294-2^f8.)  The  whole  style  of  Tertullian's  thinking  stands  opposed  to 
every  such  construction  of  his  words.  He,  and  ('yj)rian,  and  Augustin,  the 
founders  and  fathers,  we  may  say,  of  the  whole  Western  Latin  theoloey, 
occupy  here  the  very  same  ground,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  that  was  after- 
wards taken  by  the  Reformed  Church,  in  distinction  both  iVom  the  Lutheran 
and  the  Church  of  Rome. 

*  Nam  corpus  Dei  Vcrbi  aut  panguis,  quid  nliud  esse  potest,  nisi  verbuni 
quod  nutrit,  et  verbum  quod  la-tificat  cor? — Pursuing  his  allegorical  exegesis, 
he  makes  the  body  to  be  the  word  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  Hood  the 
word  of  the  New !     See  Kbrard,  p.  274-277. 


MODERN    rUKITAN    TIIEOUY.  '  135 

time   of  Paschasius   Radbert,  in   a   strictly  literal   and    proper 
sense. 

Thus  we  hear  Ct/ril,  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  fourth  century,  in- 
sisting on  the  words  of  institution  in  such  style  as  this:  ''When 
he  himself  has  plainly  said  in  relation  to  the  bread,  This  is  nvf 
horh/,  who  will  presume  to  have  any  farther  doubt?  And  when 
he  has  solemnly  assured  us,  This  is  my  blood,  who  will  hesitate 
ever  to  say  that  it  is  his  blood  ?  He  changed  water  before  into 
wine  resembling  blood,  in  Cana  of  Galilee;  and  shall  we  distrust 
him  here  as  changinnr  vvine  into  blood?"*  This  sounds  like 
transubstantiation  itself  in  the  fullest  sense;  and  yet  there  is 
good  reason  to  believe,  that  such  was  not  the  meaning  of  the 
worthy  father  himself,  after  all. 

Chrysostom  uses  very  strong  language  too  in  the  same  direc- 
tion ;  but  he  is,  on  the  whole,  more  guarded,  and  less  liable  to 
misconstruction.  He  makes  the  sensible  elements  in  the  Sup- 
per to  be  indeed  the  form,  under  which  its  proper  spiritual  grace 
is  brought  near  to  the  believer ;  as  the  washing  with  water  in 
Baptism,  is  the  outward  exhibition  of  the  grace  of  regeneration. 
But  still  the  outward  and  inward  are  not  made  to  flow  absolCitely 
together.  The  first  is  something,  aio^Yi-tov,  for  the  senses ;  the 
other  is  vor^tov,  not  a  mere  thought,  certainly,  but  something  to  be 
received  by  the  soul,  and  not  simply  by  the  mouth.  "  If  thou 
hadst  been  without  a  body,"  he  says,  "  the  grace  might  have 
come  to  thee  in  the  same  naked  form ;  but  since  the  soul  is  inter- 
woven with  the  body,  he  gives  thee  the  spiritual  in  forms  of  sense 
Qv  ctla^ritol^  T'tt  vor^td  aoi,  ;T;o^a6i.'6co(5t)."j" 

Among  the  Latin  fathers  of  the  same  period,  we  find  Ambrose 
almost  as  bold  in  his  representations  as  Cyril  himself.  "The 
sacrament  you  receive  is  wrought  by  the  word  of  Christ.  The 
word  of  Elias  had  power  to  bring  down  fire  from  heaven;  aad 
shall  not  the  word  of  Christ  avail  to  change  the  character  (spe- 
ciem)  of  the  elements?  You  have  read,  in  relation  to  the  whole 
work  of  creation,  He  spake  and  it  was  done,  he  commanded  and 
it  stood  fast ;  and  shall  not  the  word  of  Christ,  which  could  thus 
call  out  of  nothing  that  which  was  not,  be  able  also  to  change 
things  that  are  into  what  they  were  not  before ?"|     And  yet  he 

*  Cateches.  4.  The  terms  /xetaSoJ.r;,  f.istdjSd'K'kta^ac,  ixctafxc^povs^aci 
&c.,  were  familiarly  applied  at  this  time  to  the  change  which  was  supposed  to 
take  place  in  the  elements,  by  their  consecration.  A  new  character  was  held 
to  be  imparted  to  them  by  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  made  them 
to  be  what  they  were  not  before,  in  a  sacramental  sense.  Still  no  idea  was 
entertained  of  an  actual  transmutation  of  the  bread  and  wine  into  Christ's 
body  and  blood.  They  were  regarded  only  as  having  a  supernatural  character 
communicated  to  them,  in  virtue  of  which  they  served  to  bring  those  who 
partook  of  them  into  communion  with  Christ's  true  body  and  blood. 

t  Horn.  82,  in  Matthaei  evangelium.  t  De  initiandis,  cap.  9. 


136  THE  MYSTICAL  PRESENCE 

says,  in  his  exposition  of  Luke,  again,  "  Tangimus  Christum  non 
corporali  tactu,  sed  fide  tantum."  The  change,  then,  which  he 
supposed  to  be  wrought  in  the  bread  by  its  consecration,  was 
not  such  as  to  transmute  it,  in  his  view,  adtually  into  Christ's 
body;  but  served  only  to  clothe  it  with  a  new  power  or  virtue  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  (Cyril's  divine  /wfraiacrxj;,)  that  made  it  for  the 
recipient  the  true  medium  of  an  actual  communication  with  the 
body  it  represented. 

We  have  a  much  better  representative  of  the  faith  of  the 
Western  Church,  during  this  period,  in  Aiigtistine,  the  great 
theological  successor  of  Cyprian  in  the  North  of  Africa.  He 
distinguishes  clearly  between  the  outward  and  inward,  in  the 
sacramental  transaction,  the  form  of  the  sacrament  and  its  sub- 
stance; and  says  of  the  bread,  separately  considered,  that  it  is 
simply  the  sign,  of  Christ's  body.*  In  the  sacraments,  "  aliud 
videtur,  aliud  intelligitur."  He  will  hear  of  no  oral  communi- 
cation;  "quia  gratia  ejus  non  consumitur  morsibus."  Still,  as 
Neander  remarks,  Augustine  held  a  real  conjunction,  in  the  case 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  between  the  signs  and  the  things  signified  ; 
in  virtue  of  which  believers,  (not  unbelievers,)  along  with  the 
outward  form,  were  made  to  partake  of  its  proper  contents,  tlie 
"res  sacramenti"  itself.  And  this  res  sacramcnti  he  held  to  be 
the  union  of  believers  with  their  one  head  Christ,  and  their 
closer  union  thus  with  one  another,  as  members  of  his  glorious 
mystical  body,  the  Church.  He  asserts  as  clearly  as  Calvin  the 
local  circumscription  of  Christ's  proper  body  in  heaven;  and  of 
course  makes  our  communion  with  him  to  be  w^holly  by  the 
Spirit.  Still  he  represents  it  to  be  always  a  real  communion. 
*'  Habe  fidem,  et  tecum  est,  quem  non  vides."t 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  refer  to  other  authorities.  Nor 
does  the  subject  call  us  to  trace,  even  in  a  general  way,  the 
course  of  the  sacramental  doctrine,  as  corrupted  by  the  Catliolic 
Church,  in  later  times.t     As  before  remarked,  the  gross  errors 

*  Non  eiMm  Dominus  dubitavit  dicere  :  Hoc  est  corpus  meum,  cum  signum 
daret  corporis  sui. 

t  See  Neander's  Kirchengesch.     Bd.  2,  Abth.  3,  p.  1399-1401. 

\  This  is  done  at  length  by  Prof.  Ebrard,  in  the  work  which  has  been 
already  mentioned.  The  progress  of  error,  in  this  case,  was  very  slow  and 
insidious.  It  may  be  traced  particularly  in  the  gradual  difFerences  of  repre- 
sentation, that  appear  in  the  different  ancient  liturgies.  In  time,  the  false 
view,  which  existed  at  first  only  in  the  form  of  feeling,  began  to  claim  autho- 
rity also  in  the  form  of  distinct  logical  expression  for  the  understanding.  This, 
however,  called  furth,  even  in  the  ninth  century,  a  very  active  protest.  The 
doctrine  of  Pnschasius  Rndhert,  caused  at  first  much  commotion,  and  was 
strongly  opposed  by  the  monk  Ralramn,  Rabanus  Maurus,  John  Scohis  Eri- 
gena,  and  many  others.  "  They  did  not  deny,"  says  Knapp,  (Chr.  Thcol. 
Wood's  Trans,  vol.  ii.  p.  571,)  "  the  presence  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ; 
but  they  taught  that  this  convcrsio  or  immutatio  of  the  bread  and  wine  is  not 


MODERN    PUIUTAN    THEORY.  137 

of  transubstantiation  and  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  only  serve  to 
show  more  impressively  the  truth  of  the  position  now  insisted 
upon;  that  the  sacrament  was  felt,  from  the  beginning,  to  involve 
not  simply  a  memorial  of  Christ's  sacrifice,  but  the  very  power 
of  the  sacrifice  itself,  as  made  present  in  his  glorified  life.     To 
the  consciousness  of  the  early  Church,  the  solemn   ordinance 
was  an  exhibition  immediately  of  the  offering  for  sin  made  once 
for  all  by  Christ's  death;   in  the  participation  of  which,  the  be- 
liever was  considered  to  receive  the  full  benefit  of  it,  as  of  a  liv- 
ing atonement  brought  before  God  at  the  time.     This,  however, 
was  felt  to  comprehend  an  actual  reception  of  the  life  itself,  in 
whose  presence  only  such  living  and  enduring  virtue  could  be 
supposed  to  reside.     The  mere  recollection  of  the  atonement  as 
a  past  fact,  was  not  enough  for  the  Christianity  of  those  days; 
it   must  be  apprehended  and  appropriated  as  a  present  reality, 
under  a  livinor  form.     Christ  must  himself  animate  the  sacra- 
ment,  and  be  received  in  it  as  the  soul  of  the  sacrifice  it  repre- 
sented.    All  this,  however,  according  to  the  faith  of  the  first 
centuries,  in  a  purely  spiritual  way.     We  hear  of  no  transub- 
stantiation of  the  elements  into  Christ's   body  and   blood,  as 
afterwards  taught  by  the  Church  of  Rome.     They  are  called, 
indeed,  his  body  and  blood;  but  only  in  a  sacramental  or  liturgi- 
cal sense.    We  hear  of  no  material  or  local  presence  of  his  flesh, 
in  the  Lutheran  sense:  no  tactual  communication  with  his  glori- 
fied body;    no  reception  of  his  life  in  a  simply  oral  way.     But 
the  fact  of  a  real  communication  with  this  life,  in  its  strictly 
human  character,  as  comprehended  in  the  sacramental  transac- 
tion, (actio  in  actione,)  is  none  the  less,  but  only  the  more  dis- 
tinctly asserted,  we  may  say  for  this  very  reason.     All  Christian 
antiquity  stands  opposed  here  to  the  low  rationalistic  idea  of  a 
merely  moral  virtue  in  the  eucharist.     The  faith  of  the  Church 
became  afterwards,  it  is  true,  the  occasion  of  superstitious  error, 
which  had  well  nigh  proved  its  own  grave.    The  doctrine  of  the 
real  presence  5^  Ttj'fv^art,  degenerated  into  transubstantiation,  or 
the  real  presence  Ip  ca^xC.     The  living  memorial  of  Christ's  one 
sacrifice,  was  converted  itself  into  the  nev/,  continually  repeated 
sacrifice  of  the  mass.     But  the  corruption  of  a  great  truth,  may 

of  a  carnal,  but  of  a  spiritual  nature  ;  that  these  elements  are  not  transmuted 
into  the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  but  are  signs  or  symbols  of  them.  In 
many  points  they  approximated  to  the  opinion  of  the  Reformed  theologians." 
That  is,  they  insisted  on  what  had  been  the  general  doctrine  of  the  Church 
from  the  beginning,  namely,  that  the  elements  were  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  not  literally,  but  mystically,  as  serving  after  their  consecration  to 
make  them  present  in  fact,  though  in  a  spiritual  way,  to  the  communicant.  Any 
view  lower  than  this  was  out  of  the  question,  as  the  Church  then  stood  ;  and 
even  this  was  borne  down  at  last  by  the  force  of  the  corruption  that  fiad  now 
begun  to  usurp  its  place. 

12* 


138  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

never  be  urged  reasonably  against  the  authority  of  the  truth 
itself.  And  of  all  forms  of  fanaticism,  there  is  none  more  poor 
than  the  zeal,  which  in  such  circumstances  seeks  to  rectify  a 
gross  extreme  in  one  direction,  by  throwing  itself  blindly  into 
the  arms  of  An  extreme  equally  gross  in  the  other;  and  to  re- 
venge itself  upon  an  acknowledged  abuse,  is  ready  to  demolish 
along  with  it  the  whole  form  of  existence  out  of  which  it  has 
grown.  To  clear  ourselves  of  transubstantiation  and  the  mass, 
is  it  necessary  that  we  should  strip  the  sacrament  of  oil  mystery, 
and  refuse  to  allow  it  any  objective  force  whatever  ?  So  thought 
not  the  Reformers,  as  we  have  already  seen.  Not  only  Luther 
and  Melancthon,  but  Calvin  also,  and  Beza  and  Ursinus,  and 
the  fathers  of  the  Reformed  Church  generally,  discovered  a  pro- 
per anxiety  here  t(5  save  the  substance  of  the  primitive  faith, 
while  they  endeavoured  to  rescue  it  from  the  errors  with  which 
it  had  become  overlaid  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  They  hon- 
oured, in  this  case  as  in  other  cases  also,  the  authority  of  the 
ancient  fathers,  and  the  life  of  the  early  Church ;  and  they  took 
pains  accordingly  to  show,  as  far  as  they  could,  that  this  testi- 
mony, rightly  interpreted  and  understood,  was  on  flieir  side,  and 
not  on  the  side  of  Rome.  It  was  reserved  for  a  later  time,  and 
for  a  theology  of  different  spirit  from  that  which  generally  pre- 
vailed in  the  sixteenth  century,  to  treat  this  whole  appeal  with 
contempt,  by  charging  the  Church  with  corruption  and  super- 
stition from  the  very  start,  and  pretending  to  construct  the 
entire  scheme  of  Christianity  de  novo  from  the  scriptures,  with- 
out any  regard  to  the  primitive  faith  whatever. 


MODERN    PURITAN    THEORY.  139 


SECTION  IV. 

RATIONALISM    AND    THE    SECTS. 

The  modern  Puritan  theory  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  it  in- 
volves a  falling  away  from  the  general  faith  of  the  Reformation, 
finds  at  the  same  time  no  sanction  whatever  in  the  faith  of  the 
primitive  Church.  This  of  itself  constitutes  certainly  a  power- 
ful presumption  against  it.  What  right,  we  may  ask,  has  Puri- 
tanism had  to  depart  thus  from  the  creed  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, and  the  creed  of  whole  ancient  Christianity,  at  the  same 
time?  The  right  of  private  judgment,  it  may  be  replied,  against 
the  authority  of  tradition.  But  is  not  tradition  itself  in  this  case 
the  judgment  merely,  which  has  been  entertained  of  the  sense  of 
the  bible  by  the  Reformers  and  the  early  Church?  Why  then 
should  the  particular  judgment  of  Puritanism,  as  such,  be  al- 
lowed to  carry  with  it  any  such  weight  as  is  needed  to  bear 
down  the  judgment  of  the  universal  Church  besides  from  the 
beginning?  In  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  strong  grounds  and 
solid  arguments  should  be  exhibited,  to  justify  this  modern  par- 
ticularity of  faith,  in  its  palpable  defection  from  the  general  creed 
of  Christendom,  with  regard  to  an  article  so  momentous  as  the 
one  now  under  contemplation.  The  presumption  here,  I  repeat 
it,  is  against  modern  Puritanism.  The  simple  statement  of  the 
case,  is  adapted  |jrmcf/ac/e,  when  fairly  understood,  to  create  an 
impression  unfavourable  to  its  claims. 

But  this  is  not  all.  A  still  farther  presumption  against  the 
same  view,  is  created  by  the  fact  that  in  departing  from  the  faith 
of  the  Reformation,  it  is  found  to  be  in  full  harmony  with  the 
false  Pelagian  tendency,  by  which  the  truth  under  other  forms, 
as  originally  held  by  the  Reformers,  has  been  so  widely  subverted 
in  different  Protestant  lands.  The  modern  Puritan  view  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  is  constitutionally  rationalistic. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  the  Socinians  of  the  sixteenth  century 
sunk  the  conception  of  the  sacraments  to  the  general  level  of 
their  false  theological  system.  As  they  denied  the  divinity  of 
the  Saviour,  and  reduced  the  whole  Christian  salvation  to  a  mere 
system  of  morality,  they  could  see  in  the  sacraments  naturally 
nothing  more  than  external,  simply  human  ceremonies.  Their 
idea  was,  that  Christianity,  as  a  spiritual  religion,  had  no  de- 
pendence on  forms  and  rites  as  such ;  and  hence  in  this  case, 
they  made   no   account  whatever  of  any  virtue  or  force,  that 


140  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

might  be  supposed  to  belong  to  the  sacraments  themselves,  con- 
sidered as  divine  institutions.  To  attribute  to  them  any  objec- 
tive value,  they  counted  mere  Jevi'ish  ritualism.  "  For  how,"  it 
is  asked,  "can  that  serve  to  confirm  us  in  faith,  which  we  do  our- 
selves, and  which  though  commanded  of  God  is  still  our  own 
work,  including  or  exhibiting  nothing  remarkable,  and  having 
no  fitness  to  convince  or  persuade  us  of  the  truth  of  any  of 
those  things,  by  which  our  faith  is  confirmed."  [F.  Snc.  Opp. 
1.  p.  753.)  The  sacraments  are  made  to  be,  "  mutuae  inter  Deum 
ac  homines  sacrae  confoederationis  tesscrfB.^^  The  idea  of  a  real 
presence  of  any  sort  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  is  held  to  be  a  mere 
superstition;  all  is  turned  into  a  naked  commemoration  of 
Christ's  benefits. 

In  the  Lord's  Supper,  we  receive  according  to  the  Lord's  ow^n  word, 
nothing  from  the  ordinance  itself  save  bread  and  wine ;  but  we  com- 
memorate past  favours  and  give  thanks  for  them."  F.  Soc.  Opp.  J. 
p.  753. 

"  Quest.   What  is  the  LordPs  Supper  ? 

"Ans.  The  appointment  of  Christ  that  his  saints  should  break  and 
eat  bread  and  drink  of  the  cup,  in  order  to  show  forth  his  death  ; 
which  is  to  continue  till  his  advent. 

"  Quest.  But  what  is  it  to  show  forth  the  Lord's  death  ? 

"Ans.  Publicly  and  solemnly  to  give  thanks  to  Christ,  that  out 
of  his  ineffable  love  towards  us,  he  suffered  his  body  to  be  tortured, 
and  in  a  sense  broken,  and  his  blood  to  be  shed  ;  and  to  extol  and 
magnify  the  kindness  he  has  shown  to  us  in  this  way."  Rac.  Cat. 
Qu.  331,  335. 

"  Quest.  Is  there  no  other  reason  for  the  institution? 

"Ans.  There  is  no  other  (nulla  prorsus)  ;  though  many  have  been 
imagined,  &c."     lb.  Qu.  337. 

"  Quest.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  words,  This  is  my  body  1 
"Ans.  They  are  variously  understood,  for  some  suppose  that  the 
bread  is  changed  really  into  the  body  and  the  wine  into  the  blood ; 
which  they  call  transubstantiation.  Others  imagine  the  body  of  the 
Lord  to  be  in  the  bread,  under  the  bread,  with  the  bread.  There  are 
those  finally,  who  believe  that  they  partake  of  the  Lord's  body  and 
blood  in  the  Supper,  though  only  in  a  spiritual  way.  But  all  these 
opinions  are  fallacious  and  erroneous."     lb.  Qu.  340. 

With  the  rise  of  Arminianism  in  the  following  century,  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Reformed  Chuicli,  we  find  a  similar  undervaluation 
of  the  sacraments,  reducing  them  in  the  end  again  to  mere  signs. 

"  We  hold  the  sacraments  to  be  sacred  and  solemn  rites,  by  which 
as  covenant  signs  and  seals,  God  not  only  represents  and  adumbrates, 
but  in  a  certain  sense  also  exhibits  and  confirms,  his  benefits  promised 


MODERN    PURITAN    THEORY.  141 

especially  in  the  gospel  covenant."  Confess.  Remonst.  xxiii.  1.  Drawn 
up  by  Simon  Episcopus  A.  D.  1622. 

"  We  may  say  that  God  exhibits  his  grace  to  us  through  the  sac- 
raments, not  as  conferring  it  by  them  actually,  but  by  employing  them 
as  clear  signs  to  represent  it  and  set  it  before  our  eyes.  They  operate 
upon  us  as  signs,  that  represent  to  our  mind  the  thing  whose  signs 
they  are.  _  Nor  should  any  other  efficacy  be  sought  in^them. — They 
promote  piety  besides  on  our  part,  as  involving  an  obligation  to  duty, 
of  the  same  nature  with  a  soldier's  oath."  Limhorch  Theol.  Chr.  v. 
Q&,  31,  32. 

"The  Lord's  Supper  is  the  other  sacred  rite  of  the  New  Testament, 
instituted  by  Jesus  Christ,  on  the  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed, 
for  the  eucharistic  and  solemn  commemoration  of  his  death  ;  in  which 
believers,  after  proper  self-examination  and  assurance  of  their  own 
faith,  eat  sacred  bread  publicly  broken  in  the  congregation,  and  drink 
wine  publicly  poured  out,  to  show  forth  with  solemn  action  of  thanks, 
the  Lord's  bloody  death  endured  for  our  sake,  (by  which  our  hearts, 
as  the  body  is  nourished  by  meat  and  drink,  are  fed  and  strengthened 
to  the  hope  of  eternal  life)  ;  and  also  to  testify  publicly  belwe  God 
and  the  Church,  their  living  spiritual  communion  with  Christ's  cru- 
cified body  and  shed  blood,  (or  with  Jesus  Christ  himself  as  crucified 
and  dead  for  us),  and  so  with  all  the  benefits  procured  by  his  death, 
as  well  as  their  love  to  one  another."     Conf.  Remonst.  xxiii.  4.* 

The  triumph  of  Rationalism,  during  the  eighteenth  century,  in 
Germany  and  throughout  Europe  generally,  brought  with  it  of 
course  a  still  more  extensive  degradation  of  religious  views.  It 
is  not  necessary  here  to  trace  the  rise  of  this  apostacy.  and  its 
connection  with  the  previous  state  of  Protestantism.!  Enough 
to  say,  that  it  grew  out  of  a  tendency  involved  in  the  very  nature 
of  Protestantism  from  the  beginning  ;  the  opposite  exactly  of 
that  by  which  the  Catholic  Church  previously  had  been  carried 
into  an  equally  false  extreme,  on  the  other  side.  As  Romanism 
had  sacrificed  the  rights  of  the  individual  to  the  authority  of  the 
general, — the  claims  of  the  subjective  to  the  overwhelming 
weight  of  the  objective;  so  the  tendency  of  Protestantism  may 
be  said  to  have  been  from  the  very  start,  to  assert  these  same 
rights  and  claims  in  the  way  of  violent  reaction,  at  the  cost  of 
the  opposite  interest.  In  the  age  of  the  Reformation  itself, 
deeply  imbued  as  it  was  with  the  positive  life  of  truth  and  faith, 
this  tendency  was  powerfully  held  within  limits.  With  Luther, 
and  Calvin,  and  the  Reformers  generally,  the  principle  of  freedom 
was  still  held  in  check  by  the  principle  of  authority,  and  the  rea- 
son of  the  individual  was  required  to  bend  to  the  idea  of  a  divine 

*  "Hac  in  re,"  says  Episcopius,  "  assentientes  sibi  habent  non  paucos 
ReTormatos,  inter  quos  Zwinglius,  optimus  hiijiis  ceremoniEe  doctor,  princeps 
est."     Limbcrch  expressly  opposes  the  Calvinistic  theory. 

t  For  a  brief  but  clear  sketch  of  this,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Prof.  Schaf's 
Principle  of  Protestantism,  p.  9S-102. 


142  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

revelation  as  something  broader  and  more  sure  than  itself.  It 
came  not  however  in  all  this,  it  must  be  confessed,  to  a  true  in- 
ward reconciliation  of  these  polar  forces.  The  old  orthodoxy, 
it  is  now  generally  allowed,  particularly  under  the  form  it  car- 
ried in  the  Lutheran  Church,  involved  in  itself  accordingly  the 
necessity  of  such  a  process  of  inward  conflict  and  dissolution,  as 
it  has  since  been  called  to  pass  through;  in  order  that  the  con- 
tradiction which  was  lodged  in  its  bosom,  might  come  fairly  into 
view,  and  the  way  be  opened  thus  for  its  reconstruction,  under 
a  form  at  once  more  perfect  and  more  true  to  its  own  nature. 
The  characteristic  tendency  of  Protestantism  already  mentioned, 
burst  finally  through  all  the  counteracting  force,  with  which  it 
had  been  restrained  in  the  beginning.  Religion-  ran  out  into 
sheer  subjectivity;  first  in  the  form  of  Pietism,  and  afterwards 
in  the  overflowing  desolation  of  RationaHsm,  reducing  all  to  the 
character  of  the  most  flat  natural  morality.  The  eighteenth 
century  was  characteristically  infidel.  As  an  age,  it  seemed  to 
have  no  organ  for  the  supernatural.  All  was  made  to  shrink  to 
the  dimensions  of  the  mere  human  spirit,  in  its  isolated  character. 
Theology  of  course  was  robbed  of  all  its  higher  life.  Even  the 
supernaturalism  of  the  period  was  rationalistic;  and  occupying 
as  it  did  in  fact  a  false  position  with  regard  to  the  truth,  by  which 
a  measure  of  right  was  given  to  the  rival  interest,  it  proved  alto- 
gether incompetent  to  maintain  its  ground  against  the  reigning 
spirit.  The  views  of  rationalism  may  be  said  to  infect  the  whole 
theology  of  this  period,  and  also  of  the  first  part  of  the  present| 
century,  openly  heretical  and  professedly  orthodox  alike.  ! 

In  the  nature  of  the  case,  this  may  be  expected  to  show  itself 
in  low  views  of  the  sacraments,  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.' 
Rationalism  is  too  spiritual,  to  make  much  account  of  outward 
forms  and  services  of  any  sort  in  religion.  All  nmst  be  resolved 
into  the  exercises  of  the  worshipper's  own  mind.  The  subjective 
is  every  thing;  the  objective  next  to  nothing.  Hence  the  super- 
natural itself  is  made  to  sink  into  the  form  of  the  simply  moral. 
The  sacraments  of  course  become  signs,  and  signs  only.  Any 
power  they  may  have  is  not  to  be  found  in  them,  but  altogether 
in  such  use  merely  as  a  pious  soul  may  be  able  to  make  of  them, 
as  occasions  for  quickening  its  own  devout  thoughts  and  feelings. 

Under  the  force  of  this  predominant  spirit,  even  the  more 
sound  theologians  of  the  period  now  in  view,  are  found  lamenta- 
bly defective  in  their  representations  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as 
compared  with  the  true  Protestant  fathers  of  the  Sixteenth  Cen- 
tury. Such  men  as  Zacharid,  Mursinnn,  Dodcrldn,  Knapp, 
Stciakl,  &c.,*  no  longer  venture  to  speak  of  a  real  communica- 

*  Nor  can  any  excpption  be  made,  with  regard  to  this  point,  even  in  favor 
of  Silorr  and  Reinhard.     They  do  indeed  employ  language,  which  seems  at 


MODERN  PURITAN  THEORY.  143 

tion  with  Christ's  body  and  blood  in  the  old  sense.  For  the  old 
doctrine,  they  substitute  at  best  a  simple  prcssentiam  operntivam; 
by  which  all  is  resolved  in  the  end  into  the  idea  of  a  mere  hea- 
venly efficacy;  supernatural  it  is  true,  but  still  moral  only,  as 
being  nothing  more  than  an  occasion  to  call  out  pious  exercises 
on  the  part  of  the  worshipper  himself  Men  of  less  pretension 
to  orthodoxy,  and  for  this  reason  more  consistently  rationalistic 
in  their  thinking,  Henkc,  Ecktrmunn,  the  elder  Nitzsch,  Hase, 
De  Wette,  Wegscheider,  &c.,  discard  the  idea  of  a  celestial  sub- 
stance in  the  sacrament  entirely,  and  find  its  whole  meaning  at 
once  in  the  sphere  of  mere  nature  and  common  life. 

"  The  design  of  the  Holy  Supper  is  this  ;  that  all  who  profess  the 
name  of  Christ,  while  they  partake  of  the  broken  bread  as  a  sign  of 
his  crucified  body,  and  of  the  wine  as  the  symbol  of  his  shed  blood, 
may  thankfully  remember  the  benefits  which  they  owe  to  their  Re- 
deemer, and  so  be  incited  to  fulfil  all  the  duties  to  which  they  are 
bound.     Along  with  this  main  end  Paul  mentions  another  also,  1  Cor. 

times  to  imply  a  participation  in  the  very  substance  of  Christ's  life  ;  but  this 
is  so  qualified  and  moditied  again  by  a  different  phraseology,  that  all  runs  out 
at  last  into  the  idea  of  mere  supernatural  influence  or  power.  Reinhard  pre- 
tends,  indeed,  to  censure  the  Reformed  view  as  too  low;  but  he  misrepresents  it 
by  charging  it  with  the  error  of  holding  the  elements  to  be  mere  signs  ;  whereas 
they  should  be  regarded,  he  says,  as  exhibitive  also  of  what  they  represent. 
This,  however,  as  we  have  seen,  was  always  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Reformed 
Church  itself.  Then  he  affirms  that  we  receive  in,  with  and  under  the  bread 
and  wine,  the  true  body  and  blood  of  Christ;  but  immediately  explains  this  to 
be,  in  other  words,  "that  the  exalted  God-man  Jesus  works,  (exerts  an  influ- 
ence,)  by  his  body  and  blood,  on  all  who  make  use  of  this  ceremony."  Again, 
by  "  presence,"  he  understands  simply,  "  nothing  more  than  the  power  to 
exert  an  influence  at  a  particular  place."  Dogmatik,  §,  162.  Storr,  in  the 
judgment  of  J3refsc/ineid«r,  does  not  get  beyond  the  same  view ;  and  to  be 
satisfied  of  this,  we  need  only  to  read  attentively  all  that  he  says  on  the  sub- 
ject, in  ^.  114  of  his  Dogmatik.  The  words  of  institution  mean,  he  tells  us, 
"  Tliis  bread  makes  you  participant  of  my  body — this  wine  hands  over  to  you 
iTiy  blood,"  and  argues  at  large  against  the  figurative  interpretation  of  Zuingli 
and  CEcolampadius.  But  all  comes  at  last  to  this,  that  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  whose 
person  humanity  and  divinity  are  inseparably  united,  is  actually  present  at  the 
celebration  of  the  Supper,  and  "  exerts  his-  influence  there  in  an  incompre- 
hensible manner."  The  believer  derives  actual  nourishment  from  Christ, 
more  than  is  comprehended  in  the  simple  exercise  of  his  own  faith  and  trust  ; 
but  still  it  is  in  the  form  of  a  "  salutary  influence,"  mysteriously  proceedinp; 
from  his  person,  rather  than  by  an  actual  participation  in  his  very  life  itseli'. 
In  this  respect,  the  doctrine  of  Storr  and  Reinhard,  undoubtedly  falls  short 
of  the  doctrine  taught  by  Calvin  ;  for  it  is  not  to  be  questioned,  that  this  last 
had  in  his  mind  always,  as  much  as  Luther  himself,  the  idea  of  a  true  repro- 
duction of  Christ's  life  in  the  believer,  an  actual  extension  of  its  very  sub- 
stance into  the  believer's  soul,  and  not  simply  an  operation  proceeding /rom 
this  life,  under  however  high  a  form. — Professor  Schmucker ,  of  this  country, 
in  his  translation  of  the  Biblical  Theology  of  Storr  and  Flatt,  1S26,  has  an 
appendix  to  this  section  on  the  Eucharist,  in  which  he  brings  forwaid  the  con- 
current view  of  Reinhard,  backed  by  the  authority  of  Mosheim,  as  a  fair 
exhibition  of  the  proper  Lutheran  doctrine.  And  yet  it  was  considered  by 
many  an  evidence  of  the  strong  power  of  sectarian  prejudice,  that  the  Ameri. 
can  Lutheran  Professor  should  have  allowed  himself  at  the  time,  to  go  so  far 
as  to  endorse,  apparently,  the  doctrine  of  the  real  presence,  even  in  the  con- 
venient sense  of  these  "  sober  and  judicious"  divines  ! 


144 


THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


X.  17,  namely,  that  when  we  come  to  the  table  in  common,  we  call 
to  mind  the  "natural  love  that  is  required  of  those  who  profess  the 
same  religion,  and  show  ourselves  ready  to  maintain  it." — Mursinna, 
Lehrb.  der  l)ogm.  p.  267,  2G8. 

"  Nor  is  it  difficult  to  understand  and  show,  what  force  this  sacra- 
ment has  in  itself  to  affect  the  mind. — Its  efficacy,  in  the  way  of  ex- 
citing- and  quickening  faith^  and  for  the  purposes  of  piety,  is  clear. 
— Some  however  may  say,  if  the  eucharist  furnish  nothing  more  than 
this  opportunity  of  calling  to  mind  Christ's  benefits,  as  already  before 
us  in  the  word,  it  seems  to  be  a  superfluous  rite.  So  far  am  1  how- 
ever from  thinking  any  institution  to  be  superfluous  which  brings  the 
truth,  though  otherwise  know^n,  with  new  force  before  the  mind,  it 
appears  to  me  suitable  to  the  gravity  and  dignity  of  the  subject  rather, 
that  it  should  be  presented  to  the  understanding  and  memory,  not  in 
one  way  only,  but  in  manifold  ways. — The  virtue  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, therefore,  like  that  of  Baptism,  does  not  differ  from  the  power  of 
the  divine  word.  Like  this  it  is  logico-moral,  worthy  thus  of  the 
divine  wisdom  and  of  the  christian  religion,  including  also  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  makes  use  of  the  bread  and  wine  as  in- 
struments to  excite  such  affections  as  are  pious  and  pleasing  to  God." 
— Doderlein.     Inst.  Theol.  Ch.  p.  691—694. 

"  The  Holy  Spirit  acts  upon  the  hearts  of  men  through  the  Supper, 
or  through  the  bread  and  wine,  and  by  this  means  produces  faith  and 
pious  dispositions.  But  he  produces  this  effect  through  the  word,  or 
through  the  truths  of  Christianity,  exhibited  before  us  and  presented 
to  us  in  this  ordinance.  The  effect  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  therefore 
an  effect,  which  is  produced  by  God  and  Christ,  through  his  word,  or 
the  truths  of  his  doctrine,  and  the  use  of  the  same.  In  this  sacrament 
of  the  Supper,  the  most  important  truths  of  Christianity,  which  we 
commonly  only  hear  or  read,  are  visibly  set  before  us,  made  cogniza- 
ble to  the  senses,  and  exhibited  in  such  a  way  as  powerfully  to  move 
tiie  feelings,  and  make  an  indelible  impression  on  the  memory." — 
Knapp.     Lect.  on  Chr.  Theol.,  Wood's  Translation,  vol.  ii.  p.  562. 

"  Hence  it  appears  that  the  internal  efficacy  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
or  of  the  word  of  God  through  the  Supper,  is  two-fold. 

First.  This  ordinance  is  the  means  of  exciting  and  strengthening 
the  faith  of  one  who  worthily  celebrates  it,  &c. — For  wc  arc  reminded 
by  it,  1st.   Of  the  death  of  Christ,  &c.     2d.  Of  the  causes,  &c.  &c. 

Secondly.  In  this  way  does  this  ordinance  contribute  to  maintain 
and  promote  pidi/  among  believers,  &c."  Jbid.  p.  563. 

"  The  better  way,  therefore,  in  exhibiting  either  the  Lutheran  or 
Reformed  doctrine,  is,  to  avoid  these  subtleties,  and  merely  take  the 
general  position,  that  Christ,  as  man  and  as  the  Son  of  God,  may 
exert  his  agency,  may  act,  whenever  and  in  M'^hatever  manner  he 
pleases.  He  therefore  may  exert  his  poiotr  at  his  table,  as  well  as 
elsewhere.  This  is  perfectly  scriptural ;  and  it  is  also  the  sense  and 
spirit  of  the  Protestant  theory.  And  this  doctrine  concerning  the 
nearness  of  Christ,  his  assistance,  and  stre7igthening  injliience,  in  his 
present  exalted  state,  secures  eminently  that  proper  inward  enjoy- 
ment, which  Lutheran  and  Reformed  christians,  and  even  Catholics, 
with  all  their  diversity  of  speculation  on  this  point,  may  have  alike 


MODERN    PURITAN    THEORY.  145 

m  the  Lord's  Supper.  Christ,  when  he  was  about  to  leave  the  world, 
no  more  to  be  seen  by  his  followers  with  the  mortal  eye,  left  them 
this  Supper,  as  a  visible  pledge  of  his  presence,  his  protection,  and 
love."  Ibid.  p.  577. 

"  The  meaning  of  Christ  seems  to  have  been,  that  the  close  inti- 
niacy  which  had  subsisted  thus  far  between  him  and  his  friends, 
should  not  be  interrupted  by  his  death  ;  but  that  it  was  his  desire  now 
especially  to  give  himself  to  them  as  he  was,  to  be  and  remain  wholly 
theirs  in  the  most  intimate  conjunction.  As  therefore  they  were  now 
taking  bread  and  wine,  so  he  ought  to  be  himself  received  by  his  dis- 
ciples, his  whole  discipline,  his  spirit  and  example,  with  all  the  bene- 
fits about  to  be  procured  by  his  death,  so  as  to  be  converted  as  it  were 
into  their  very  flesh  and  blood,  &c."— //eny^-e,     Lin.  Fid.  Chr.  p.  252. 

"  The  sacred  Supper  is  the  solemn  participation  of  bread  and  wine, 
as  symbols  of  Christ's  death,  by  which  such  as  attend  upon  it,  being 
impressively  reminded  of  this  death  and  of  the  general  merit  of  Christ, 
but  especially  of  his  instruction  and  example,  are  excited  and  engacred 
to  true  piety  towards  God  and  Christ,  as  also  to  kindness  towards 
others,  and  are  imbued  at  the  same  time  with  the  hope  of  obtainincr 
by  their  virtue  the  pardon  of  sin  and  everlasting  felicity.  Thus  the 
bread  and  wine  in  the  eucharist,  are  not  only  properly  called  sio-ns 
significani,  but  also  signs  or  symbols  exhihitive ;  inasmuch  as  they^do 
in  a  certain  moral  way  represent  to  communicants  the  whole  Christ, 
such  and  so  great  as  that  divine  teacher  was  who  sealed  his  doctrine' 
w^ith  his  blood,  and  forcibly  press  upon  them  the  duty  of  followino- 
him  with  decision,  so  as  not  to  shrink  even  from  enduring  death,  afte*r 
his  example,  for  what  is  true  and  right.  Although  the  rite,  regarded 
as  a  manducation  of  human  flesh  and  potation  of°human  blood,  whe- 
ther really  or  symbolically,  is  not  so  suitable  to  the  views  and  man- 
ners of  the  modern  world,  as  to  those  of  antiquity ;  still,  even  for  our 
age,  if  administered  with  becoming  regard  to  its  advanced  cultivation, 
it  IS  capable  of  being  turned  to  excellent  moral  account.  Hence  it  is 
greatly  to  be  wished,  that  its  more  frequent  use  might  be  encourao-ed, 
&LC.''—Wegscheider.     Inst.  Theol.  §  180.*  ^ 

*  Even  the  more  sound  theologians  of  this  period,  Reinhard,  Knapp,  &c., 
hold  that  the  salutary  influence  of  the  sacrament  does  not  depend  at  all  on 
the  view  that  may  be  taken  of  its  nature;  a  judgment  that  may  be  allowed  to 
be  correct  within  certain  limits,  though  not  in  the  form,  nor  to  the  extent 
exactly,  in  which  it  is  to  be  understood,  probably,  with  these  divines.  Bret- 
Schneider,  according  to  whom  the  original  institution  was  simply  a  solemn 
covenant  meal,  designed  to  proclaim,  symbolically,  the  introduction  of  the 
new  dispensation,  to  which  other  references  and  uses  were  subsequentlv 
attached,  considers  that  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  it  is  not  suspended 
absolutely  even  on  a  full  faith  in  Christ's  death  as  the  ground  of  our  salvation. 
<'  For  one  who  does  not  honour  Jesus  as  a  Mediator,  but  simply  as  a  teacher  of 
divine  truth  and  a  benefactor  of  mankind,  who  sacrificed  his  life  to  the  noblest 
ends,  may  still,  by  the  celebration  of  his  death,  be  excited  to  like  zeal  fbr 
truth  and  virtue,  to  improvement,  and  to  perseverance  in  the  conflict  with 
superstition  and  vice,  and  be  filled  thus  with  the  presentiment  also  of  a  better 
world.  The  great  design  of  Christianity,  which  is  to  free  men  from  sin  and 
to  prepare  them  for  a  higher  life,  is  in  that  case  advanced  in  him  as  well  as  in 
others,  though  in  a  difierent  way;  and  hence  the  Lord's  Supper  becomes  for 
him  too  a  salutary  sacrament."     Do s^7na( i k,  '^.  200 

13 


146  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

These  extracts  may  suffice  to  illustrate  the  genius  of  Ration- 
alism, as  it  regards  the  point  now  under  consideration.  Let  us 
rejoice,  that  its  iron  sceptre  is  at  length  broken,  for  the  territory 
of  theological  science  at  least,  where  not  a  great  while  since  all 
seemed  to  acknowledge  its  sway ;  and  that  a  new  and  brighter 
era  has  already  begun  to  dawn  auspiciously  on  the  history  of  the 
Protestant  Church.  The  authority  of  interpreters,  like  Paulas 
and  Quinol,  and  theologians  such  as  Ammon^  Wegschdder  and 
Bretsclineider,  God  be  praised,  has  become  to  the  religious  world 
like  the  idle  wind  which  no  man  regards.  Along  with  it,  how- 
ever, the  authority  of  what  may  be  styled  the  relative  orthodoxy 
of  the  same  period  has  in  like  manner  passed  away.  John  David 
Michaelis  is  felt  to  be  as  little  worthy  of  confidence  "as  the  un- 
fortunate Scmlcr.  The  supernaturalism  of  the  school  o{  Ernesii 
and  Moriis,  cool,  mechanical,  external,  the  product  of  the  under- 
standing only,  is  found  almost  as  unreal  and  unsubstantial,  as 
the  openly  infidel  theology  with  which  it  waged  unsuccessful 
war.  Who  now,  of  any  true  theological  culture,  thinks  of  taking 
the  Rosenmiillcrs,  or  Koppe  and  his  continuators,  for  his  guides 
in  the  study  of  the  scriptures?  Who  that  is  aware  at  all  of  the 
true  historical  stand-point  of  the  age,  can  sit  at  the  feet  of  such 
men  as  Mttrsinna,  and  Doderlcin,  and  Flatt,  and  Storr,  and 
Reinhard,  and  Knapp,  for  instruction  in  the  mysteries  of  the 
Christian  faith?  They  are  all  indeed  venerable  names,  and  they 
are  entitled  to  the  lasting  respect  of  the  Church  for  their  fidelity 
to  Christ  in  a  time  of  general  apostacy  and  defection.  The  re- 
sults of  their  learning  too  will  always  continue  to  be  of  value  for 
Christianity,  at  least  in  an  indirect  way.  I  But  they  stood  them- 
selves in  a  false  position  with  regard  to  the  truth  ;  and  they  were 
not  able  accordingly  to  stem  the  tide,  which  was  bearing  all 
thought  and  all  life  the  contrary  way.  So  far  as  any  better  order 
of  religion  has  come  to  prevail,  it  must  be  referred  to  other  in- 
fluences altogether.  The  salvation  of  theology  has  sprung  from 
a  different  quarter.  The  very  orthodoxy  of  the  school  now  no- 
ticed was  Itself  rationalistic  ;  and  we  may  say  of  it,  in  this  view, 
that  it  served  only  to  precipitate  the  catastrophe  which  it  sought 
to  avert.  For  its  conception  of  the  supernatural  was  always 
external  and  abstract;  placing  it  thus  in  the  same  false  relation 
precisely  to  nature  and  humanity,  which  was  established  by 
Rntionnlism  itself  This  was  to  justify  the  wrong  issue  on  which 
liie  controversy  had  been  made  to  hang,  and  to  make  common 
catise  in  a  certain  sense  with  the  enemy,  by  consenting  to  meet 
him  on  his  own  irround,  the  arena  of  the  mere  finite  understand- 
ing.  No  wonder,  that  the  supernatural  t/ius  defended,  was  found 
unable  to  sustain  itself  against  the  reigning  tendency  of  the  age. 
No  wonder,  that  it  yielded  to  this  tendency  more  and  more  itself, 


MODERN  PURITAN  THEORY.  147 

and  went  finally  to  swell   the  triumphant  stream  with  which  all 
was  carried  in  this  downward  direction.* 

Parallel  to  a  great  extent  with  the  development  of  the  subjec- 
tive principle  in  the  false  form  now  noticed,  runs  the  revelation 
also  of  the  same  tendency  in  the  equally  false  form  of  Sectar- 
ism  and  schism.  No  one  can  study  attentively  tlie  character  of 
either,  without  being  led  to  see.  that  the  two  tendencies  are  but 
different  phases  of  one  and  the  same  spiritual  obliquity.f  No 
one,  in  reading  the  history  of  the  Church,  can  well  fail  to  be 
struck  with  the  many  points  of  correspondence,  which  are  found 
universally  to  hold  between  the  two  forms  of  life,  in  spite  of  the 
broad  difference  by  which  they  might  seem  to  be  separated,  in 
many  cases,  on  a  superficial  view.  The  spirit  of  sect  is  charac- 
teristically full  of  religious  pretension;  and  professing  to  make 
supreme  account  of  religion  as  something  personal  and  experi- 
mental, it  assumes  always  a  more  than  ordinarily  spiritual  cha- 
racter, and  moves  in  the  element  of  restless  excitement  and  ac- 
tion. Hence  it  is  often,  generally  indeed  at  the  start,  fanatical 
and  wild ;  especially  in  the  way  of  opposition  to  outward  forms 
and  the  existing  order  of  the  Church  generally.  And  yet  how 
invariably  it  falls  in  with  the  rationalistic  way  of  thinking,  as  far 
as  it  mwy  think  at  all,  from  the  very  beginning;  and  how  cer- 
tainly its  principles  and  views,  when  carried  out  subsequently  to 

*  It  deserves  to  be  well  considered,  that  it  is  mainly  the  theology  of  this 
rationalistic  period,  which  has  been  derived  from  Germany  thus  far  into  our 
American  divinity,  so  far  as  any  such  importation  may  have  taken  place. 
Those  among  us  who  have  had  some  acquaintance  with  German  learning,  and 
to  whom  we  are  indebted,  it  may  be,  for  translations  of  German  theological 
works,  show  themselves  unfortunately,  for  the  most  part,  at  least  twenty  years, 
if  not  a  full  half  century,  behind  the  true  scientific  stand-point  of  the  present 
time  ;  by  exhibiting  principles  of  interpretation  and  theological  views,  in  the 
name  of  theology  properly  so  styled,  which  in  Germany  itself  are  acknow- 
ledged to  be  shorn  of  all  their  force.  Nor  is  the  error  helped  materially,  by 
making  a  supposed  judicious  distinction,  in  this  case,  between  the  orthodoxy 
of  the  period  and  its  avowed  religious  infidelity.  The  whole  posture  of  the 
time  was  rationalistic.  P2rnesti,  for  instance,  is  entitled  to  no  confidence 
whatever,  as  a  guide  to  the  true  sense  of  God's  word,  as  it  is  spirit  and  life. 
Knapp,  with  all  his  orthodoxy,  comes  short,  perpetually,  of  the  true  depth  of 
Christianity  as  a  science.  When  we  find  this  school  of  theology  recognized 
and  honoured  by  a  wide  section  of  the  American  Church,  as  the  only  valuable 
and  only  safe  form  of  German  thinking  in  the  sphere  of  religion  ;  while  the 
far  deeper  and  infinitely  more  spiritual  efforts,  by  which  the  theology  of  the 
present  time,  in  the  hands  of  such  men  as  Vomer,  G.  A.  Meier,  Julius  Mill- 
lev,  and  others  of  like  spirit,  is  struggling  to  surmount  forever  the  contra- 
dictions of  the  old  stand-point,  are  superciliously  condemned  as  transcen- 
dental  nonsense;  it  is  certainly  not  easy  to  possess  one's  soid  in  proper 
patience.  Alas,  it  is  but  too  plain,  that  with  all  our  boasted  orthodoxy,  the 
coils  of  Rationalism  have  fastened  themselves  with  deadly  embrace  on  the 
thinking  at  least,  (though  not  on  the  hearts  we  may  trust,)  of  hundreds,  who 
are  the  last  to  dream  of  any  such  thing. 

t  On  this  subject,  the  reader  is  referred  again  to  Schaf's  Principle  of  Pro. 
testantism,  p,  107-121. 


148 


THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


their  legitimate  results,  are  found  to  involve  in  the  end  the  worst 
errors  of  Rationalism  itself  Both  systems  are  antagonistic  to 
the  idea  of  the  Church.  Both  are  disposed  to  trample  under 
foot  the  authority  of  histor?/.  Both  make  the  objective  to  be 
nothing,  and  the  subjective  to  be  all  in  all.  Both  undervalue 
the  outward,  in  favour  of  what  they  conceive  to  be  the  inward. 
Both  deii\)\se  forms,  under  pretence  of  exalting  the  spirit.  Both 
of  course  sink  the  sacraments  to  the  character  of  mere  outward 
rites;  or  possibly  deny  their  necessity  altogether.  Both  afiect 
to  make  much  of  the  bible;  at  least  in  the  beginning;  though 
sometimes  indeed  it  is  made  to  yield,  with  Sectarism,  to  the  ima- 
gination of  some  superior  inward  light  more  directly  from  God; 
and  in  all  cases,  it  is  forced  to  submit,  to  the  tyranny  of  mere 
jirivate  interpretation,  as  the  only  proper  measure  of  its  sense. 
With  both  forms  of  thinking,  the  idea  of  Christianity,  as  a  per- 
manent order  of  life,  a  real  supernatural  constitution  unfolding 
itself  historically  in  the  world,  is  we  may  say  wanting  altogether. 
All  at  last  is  flesh,  the  natural  life  of  man  as  such  ;  exalted  it  may 
be  in  its  own  order,  but  never  of  course  transcending  itself  so 
as  to  become  spirit.  The  sect  principle  may  indeed  affect  to 
move  in  the  highest  sphere  of  the  heavenly  and  divine;  carry- 
ing it  possibly  to  an  absolute  rupture  even  with  all  that  belongs 
to  the  present  world.  But  in  this  case  it  begins  in  the  spirit, 
only  to  end  the  more  certainly  in  the  flesh.  Hyper-spiritualism 
is  ever  fleshly  pseudo-spiritualism ;  that  is  sure  to  fall  back 
sooner  or  later  impotent  and  self-exhausted,  into  the  low  element 
from  which  it  has  vainly  pretended  to  make  its  escape.  Ana- 
baptism  finds  its  legitimate,  natural  end  in  the  excesses  of  Mun- 
ster;  as  Mormonism  in  the  like  excesses  of  Nauvoo.  What  a 
difference  apparently  between  the  inspiration  of  George  Fox, 
and  the  cold  infidelity  of  Elias  Hicks.  And  yet  the  last  is  the 
true  spiritual  descendant  of  the  first.  The  inward  light  of  the 
one,  and  the  light  of  reason  as  held  by  the  other,  come  to  the 
same  thing  at  last.  Both  contradict  the  true  conception  of  re- 
ligion. Both  are  supremely  subjective,  and  in  this  view  su- 
premely rationalistic  at  the  same  time. 

It  is  by  no  fortuitous  coincidence  then,  that  we  find  the  spirit 
of  S6'c^  since  the  Reformation,  (as  indeed  before  it  also,)  in  close 
affinity  with  the  spirit  of  theoretic  rationalism,  in  its  low  estimate 
of  the  Christian  sacraments.  The  relationship  of  the  two  sys- 
tems, in  the  case,  is  inward  and  real.  The  Anabaptists  and 
Socinians  of  the  sixteenth  century,  go  here  hand  in  hand  to- 
gether; as  do  also  the  Mennonites  and  Arminians  of  Holland, 
in  the  century  following.  All  hold  the  sacraments  to  be  signs 
only  for  the  understanding  and  heart  of  the  pious  communicant, 
without  any  objective  value  or  force  in  their  own  nature.     All 


MODERN    rURITAN    THEORY.  149 

alike  reduce  them  to  the  character  of  somethinor  outward  and 
accidental  only  to  the  true  Christian  life.  The  Quakers,  more 
consistently  true  than  all  sects  besides  to  the  spiritualistic  theory 
out  of  which  the  sect  life  springs,  agree  with  infidelity  itself,  in 
^ejecting  the  sacraments  altogether.*  Not  from  the  Clirist  with- 
out, the  objective  historical  Christ,  as  revealing  himself  in  the 
Church  and  exhibited  in  the  sacramental  symbols,  but  only  from 
the  Christ  within,  the  interior  spiritual  life  of  the  believer  him- 
self, is  any  true  salvation  to  be  expected.  "  Whenever  the  soul 
is  turned  towards  the  light  of  the  Lord  within,  and  is  thus  made 
to  participate  of  the  celestial  life  that  nourishes  the  interior  man, 
(the  privilege  of  the  believer  at  any  time,)  it  may  be  said  to  en- 
joy the  Lord's  Supper,  and  to  partake  of  his  flesh  and  blood." 
To  insist  upon  the  outward  sacraments  is  to  fall  back  to  Juda- 
ism, and  to  magnify  rites  and  forms  at  the  cost  of  that  spiritual 
worship,  which  alone  is  worthy  of  our  own  nature,  or  suitable 
to  the  character  of  God. 

The  anti-sacramental  tendency  of  the  sect  spirit  is  strikingly 
revealed  under  its  true  rationalistic  nature,  in  the  disposition  so 
commonly  shown  by  it  to  reject  infant  baptism.  ,  If  the  sacra- 
ments are  regarded  as  in  themselves  outward  rites  only,  that  can 
have  no  value  or  force  except  as  the  grace  they  represent  is 
made  to  be  present  by  the  subjective  exercises  of  the  worshipper, 
it  is  hard  to  see  on  what  ground  infants,  who  are  still  without 
knowledge  or  faith,  should  be  admitted  to  any  privilege  of  the 
sort.  If  there  be  no  objective  reality  in  the  life  of  the  Church, 
as  something  more  deep  and  comprehensive  than  the  life  of  the 
individual  believer  separately  taken,  infant  baptism  becomes 
necessarily  an  unmeaning  contradiction.  Hence  invariably,  (as 
already  remarked  in  the  first  part  of  the  present  chapter,)  where 
the  true  church  consciousness  is  brought  to  yield  to  the  spirit 
of  sect,  the  tendency  to  depreciate  the  ordinance  in  this  form  is 
found  to  prevail  to  the  same  extent;  and  so  on  the  other  hand, 
there  is  no  more  sure  criterion  and  measure  of  the  presence  of 
the  sect  spirit,  as  distinguished  from  the  true  spirit  of  the  Church, 
than  the  tendency  now  mentioned,  wherever  it  may  be  exhibited. 
The  baptistic  principle,  whether  carried  out  fully  in  practice  or 
not,  constitutes  the  certain  mark  of  sectarianism  all  the  world 
over.t     It  may  be  controlled  in  many  cases  by  outward  influ- 

*  "  Nihil  aliud  hrereditatis  nostrse  signaturam  et  arrhabonem  nominat  scrip- 
tura  prseter  spiritum  Dei."  Bard.  Apol.  The  Lord's  Supper,  originally 
observed,  "  imbecillium  causa,"  was  only  a  shadow,  he  tells  us,  that  is  no 
longer  needed  for  those  who  have  the  substance. 

t  "  Why  are  the  Congregationalists,  or  Baptists,  any  more  a  sect  than  the 
German  Reformed  or  the  Episcopalians  ?"  Thus  asks  the  Biblical  Repertory^ 
in  its  review  of  Schaf  on  Protestantism,  (Oct.  1845.)  charging  the  author  with 
being  vague  in  what  he  says  on  the  subject  of  sectarism.     The  question  is 

13* 


150  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

ences,  or  by  some  remnant  possibly  of  church  feeling  still  pre- 
served, so  as  not  to  come  openly  into  view;  but  it  will  be  found 
then  as  a  worm  at  least  at  the  root  of  the  institution  here  in 
view,  consuming  all  its  vigor,  and  turning  it  in  fact  into  the 
powerless  form  for  which  it  is  unbelievingly  and  rationalistically 
taken.  Where  it  comes,  however,  to  a  full  triumph  of  the  sect 
character,  the  baptistic  principle,  for  the  most  part,  asserts  its 
authority  in  a  more  open  way.  Infant  baptism  is  discarded  as  a 
relic  of  Roman  superstition.  Here  again  the  Anabaptists  and 
Mennonites  appear  in  close  connection  with  Socinians  and 
Arminians;  whose  judgment  at  least  with  regard  to  the  point  in 
hand,  though  not  their  practice,  has  ever  been  substantially  the 
same.  According  to  the  Racovian  Catechism,  the  baptism  of 
infants  is  without  authority  and  without  reason,  and  to  be  tole- 
rated only  as  a  harmless  inveterate  prejudice.*  The  Remon- 
strants of  Holland,  (Arminians,)  much  in  the  same  way,  declare 
the  rite  worthy  of  being  continued  to  avoid  scandal,  but  hold  it 
to  be  of  no  binding  authority  in  its  own  nature. t  In  our  own 
country,  as  was  remarked  before,  we  have,  at  the  present  time, 
an  exemplification  of  the  sect  feeling  at  this  point,  on  a  large 
scale.  The  Baptists,  as  they  are  called,  including  all  the  sects 
that  reject  the  baptism  of  infants,  form,  it  is  said,  the  most 
numerous  religious  profession  in  the  United  States:  and  the 
baptistic  principle,  it  is  plain,  prevails  still  more  widely,  where 
the  practice,  through  the  force  of  denominational  tradition,  re- 
mains of  an  opposite  character. 

It  appears  then  that  the  spirit  of  heresy,  and  the  spirit  of 
schisin,  in  the  case  before  us,  are  substantially  one  and  the  same. 
Both  are  unchurchly  and  anti-sacramental,  to  the  same  extent. 
It  is  not  an  accidental  resemblance  simply,  that  connects  them 
together  in  this  view;  but  the  inward  power  of  a  common  life. 
It  belongs  to  the  very  genius  of  sect  to  be  rationalistic. | 

certninly  very  striking,  in  view  of  the  quarter  from  which  it  comes.  Only 
thii\k  of  Baxter,  or  any  sound  Presbyterian  of  the  seventeenth  century,  asking 
such  a  question  in  relation  even  to  Congrcjrationalism  !  But  here  the  very 
Baptists  themselves,  whom  the  New  England  Congregationalists  of  that  period 
could  not  tolerate  in  their  midst,  arc  exalted  to  the  same  church  level  with 
the  churches  of  the  Reformation  generally.  This,  of  itself,  betrays  a  most 
low  conception  of  the  Church,  and  a  strange  confusion  in  relation  to  the  idea 
of  sect.  Neither  Calvin  nor  Luther  could  have  endured  the  thought,  of  being 
associated  in  this  way  with  a  spirit  so  utterly  unhistorical,  unchurchly,  and 
unsacramcntal,  as  that  which  is  presented  to  us  in  the  Anabaptist  schism  from 
beginning  to  end. 

*  Errorem  adeo  invcteratum  et  pcrvulgatum  Christiana  charitas  tolerare 
suadct.     Rac.  Cat. 

t  Remonstrantes  ritum  baptizandi,  infantes  ut  perantiquum  haud  illubenter 
etiam  in  ccctibus  suis  admiltunt,  adeoque  vix  sine  offensione  et  scandaJo 
magno  intermitti  posse  Etatuunt;  tantum  abest  ut  eum  sen  illicitum  aut  ne- 
fastum  improbent  ac  damnent.     Apolog.  Remonst. 

t  Ronge,  the  famous  head  of  the  "  German  Catholic"  movement,  now 


MODERN    PURITAN    THEORY.  151 

And  now  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  the  modern  Puritan  theory 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  it  has  been  presented  to  us  in  contrast 
with  the  old  Calvinistic  doctrine,  is  strikingly  in  harmony  with 
the  whole  style  of  thinking  here  offered  to  our  view.  This  must 
be  apparent  at  once  to  any  one,  who  will  only  take  the  trouble 
to  refer  again  to  the  illustrations  of  the  Puritan  theory  that  have 
been  already  quoted,  and  to  compare  them  with  the  modes  of 
thought  and  language  employed  by  the  rationalistic  school  on 
the  same  subject.  The  ground  on  which  much  of  our  Ameri- 
can theology  is  here  standing  at  the  present  time,  is  palpably 
the  same  with  that  occupied  by  the  old  rationalistic  supernatural- 
ism  of  Germany:  which  was  found  so  insufficient,  as  we  have 
just  seen,  to  maintain  itself  scientifically  against  the  neology 
with  which  it  was  called  to  contend.  It  is  the  orthodoxy  at 
best  of  such  men  as  Ernesti  and  Morus,  Reinhard  and  Knapp; 
only  with  a  very  small  part  of  their  learning.  Its  safety  is  found 
in  the  fact,  that  it  has  for  the  most  part  no  power  to  perceive 
the  contradiction  it  carries  in  its  own  bosom.  But  with  all  this, 
the  false  element  works  itself  out  in  many  practical  conse- 
quences, alike  mischievous  for  theology  and  for  the  religious  life 
in  general. 

o 

engaging  so  much  attention,  shows  here  also  his  true  theological  stand-point. 
Christ  laid  down  his  life,  according  to  this  man,  to  open  the  way  for  the  more 
rapid  spread  of  his  salutary  doctrine  in  the  world  ;  and  the  Supper  was  insti- 
tuted to  keep  up  his  memory,  and  to  be  the  standing  "  brother. meal  of 
humanity,^^  in  all  times.  See  a  notice  of  the  Easter  Service  held  last  year  in 
Berlin,  by  Ronge  and  Czersky,  in  the  correspondence  of  Krummacher^s  Palm- 
hlcctter,for  June,  1845.  How  invariably  the  rationalistic  and  sectaristic  spirit 
betrays  itself  just  at  this  point,  and  always  in  the  same  way  !  This  Ronge,  it 
will  be  remembered,  was  hailed  by  our  religious  papers  generally,  at  first,  as 
a  second  Huss  or  Luther.  But  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  dishonourable  to  the 
Reformation,  to  think  of  it  as  parallel,  in  any  measure,  with  such  a  move- 
ment. Ronge  is  no  Reformer,  but  a  Radical  only,  of  the  worst  stamp.  Like 
Luther,  he  has  indeed  cast  off  the  authority  of  Rome.  But  the  resemblance 
of  the  two  cases  is  merely  in  outward  form.  Luther  was  full  of  positive  life; 
Ronge  is  negative  wholly,  and  destitute  of  all  faith  in  Christianity  as  a  real 
life-revelation  in  the  world,  Luther  stood  in  the  element  of  the  objective,  and 
felt  himself  to  be  the  passive  organ  only  of  the  true  and  proper  historical  life 
of  the  Church  itself;  Ronge  is  supremely  subjective,  unhistorical,  and  full  of 
blind  self-xvill.  Luther  was  himself  the  first,  central,  and  in  some  sense 
fontal,  product  of  the  vast  spiritual  revolution  in  which  he  led  the  way  ;  it 
came  to  the  birth  with  deep,  convulsive, throes,  in  his  separate  personal  con- 
sciousness, before  it  revealed  itself  in  the  rest  of  the  Church,  already  ripe  for 
the  change.  Ronge  stands  in  no  such  relation  to  the  inmost  religious  life  of 
the  age,  in  which  he  affects  to  play  the  spiritual  hero.  No  world-convulsion 
has  gone  forv/ard,  in  the  first  place,  in  his  own  soul.  His  vocation  is  evidently 
superficial  and  outward,  in  the  fullest  sense  ;  and  the  movement  over  which 
he  presides  is  as  plainly  distinguished  throughout  by  the  same  character.  God 
may  make  it  indirectly  subservient  at  last,  in  some  way,  to  the  advancement 
of  his  kingdom  ;  but,  in  its  own  nature,  it  belongs  not  at  all  to  this  kingdom, 
but  to  the  world  only. — See  an  excellent  article  on  the  whole  subject,  by  Pro- 
fessor Ullmann,  characterized  by  his  usual  caution,  moderation,  and  profound 
historical  wisdom,  in  the  Studien  und  Kritiken,  for  the  last  year. 


152  THE    MYSTICAL    PUESENCE. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  we  should  be  able  to  trace  any  out- 
ward connection  between  the  two  forms  of  theology  thus  com- 
pared, to  establish  their  actual  affinity.  It  is  enough  that  they 
are  inwardly  connected,  and  that  they  belong  to  the  same  gene- 
ral development  of  a  false  tendency  comprehended  in  Protest- 
antism itself  This  tendency  has  shown  its  power  from  the  be- 
ginning, as  a  spirit  of  heresy  in  one  direction,  and  a  spirit  of 
schism  in  another ;  but  it  may  be  said  to  have  come  to  the  fullest 
revelation  of  its  bad  life,  during  the  last  century  and  the  first 
part  of  the  present.  That  the  modern  Puritan  theology  should 
be  deeply  affected  by  its  influence,  might  seem  to  be  in  the  cir- 
cumstances precisely  what  was  to  be  expected.  Puritanism,  as 
all  know,  involves  in  its  original  constitution  a  largfe  measure  of 
the  tendency  which  has  just  been  mentioned.  It  formed  from 
the  start,  a  marked  advance,  in  this  direction,  upon  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Reformed  Church,  as  it  stood  in  the  beginning; 
showing  itself  more  decidedly  independent  of  all  objective  au- 
thority, and  more  favourable  by  far  to  a  mere  abstract  spiritual- 
ism in  religion.  The  danger  to  which  the  Reformed  Church 
might  be  said  to  have  been  most  liable,  in  its  very  nature,  from 
the  first,  came  here  to  be  something  more  than  danger;  it  ap- 
peared as  actual  ultra-protestantism  itself,  hostile  to  the  proper 
idea  of  the  Church,  and  irreverent  towards  all  history  at  the 
same  time.  Nor  has  the  history  of  this  system  of  thinking  since 
furnished  any  reason  to  suppose  in  its  case  a  change  of  charac- 
ter, in  the  respect  here  noticed.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  clear 
that  the  wrong  element  which  was  embodied  in  it  at  the  begin- 
ning, has  been  only  confirmed  and  consolidated  since,  under  the 
same  character ;  for  to  this  very  influence  must  be  referred,  to 
a  great  extent,  more  or  less  directly,  the  curse  of  sectarism,  as 
it  has  now  become  so  widely  established  both  in  Great  Britain 
and  in  this  country.  That  some  leaven  of  rationalism  then 
should  enter  into  its  theology,  in  these  circumstances,  must 
appear,  after  what  has  already  been  said,  a  matter  of  course. 
This  may  be,  notwithstanding  the  presence  of  a  large  amount  of 
religious  life  in  connection  with  the  same  system. 
-^  Be  all  this  as  it  may,  however,  it  must  at  all  events  be  re- 
garded as  a  presumption  against  the  modern  Puritan  view  of  the 
iiord's  Supper,  that,  in  departing  from  the  doctrine  of  the  Re- 
formation, it  is  found  to  fall  in  so  strikingly  with  what  may  be 
styled  the  apostacy  of  Rationalism  in  the  same  direction.  It 
might  seem  sufficiently  startling  to  be  sundered,  in  such  a  case, 
from  the  general  faith  of  Christendom  as  it  has  stood  from  the 
beginning.  But  still  more  startling,  certainly,  is  the  thought  of 
such  separation  in  such  company.  This  much  is  clear.  The 
Reformation  included  in   its  original   and   proper  constitution, 


MODERN    PURITAN    THEORY.  153 

two  different  elements  or  tendencies;  and  it  was  felt  that  it 
could  be  true  to  itself,  only  by  acknowledging  the  authority  of 
both,  as  mutually  necessary  each  for  the  perfection  and  proper 
support  of  the  other.  In  the  nature  of  the  case,  however,  there 
was  a  powerful  liability  in  the  movement  to  become  ultraistic 
and  extreme,  on  that  side  which  seemed  to  carry  the  most  direct 
protest  against  the  errors  of  the  Church,  as  it  stood  before.  In 
the  course  of  time,  undeniably,  this  became,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  its  general  character.  The  simply  Protestant  tendency  was 
gradually  sundered,  in  a  great  measure,  from  its  true  Catholic 
complement  and  counterpoise ;  and  in  this  abstract  character  it 
has  run  out  into  theoretical  and  practical  rationalism,  to  a  fearful 
extent,  in  all  parts  of  the  Church.  The  low  view  of  the  sacra- 
ments, which  we  have  now  under  consideration,  came  in  with 
this  unfortunate  obliquity.  It  belongs  historically  and  constitu- 
tionally to  the  bastard  form,  under  which  the  original  life  of 
Protestantism  has  become  so  widely  caricatured  in  the  way  of 
heresy  and  schism.  Its  inward  affinity  with  the  spirit  of  Ration- 
alism, in  one  direction,  and  the  spirit  of  Sect  in  another,  (two 
different  phases  only  of  the  same  modern  Antichrist,)  is  too  clear 
to  be  for  one  moment  called  in  question.  In  this  character,  it 
forms  most  certainly,  like  the  whole  system  with  which  it  is 
associated,  a  departure  from  the  faith,  not  only  of  the  Lutheran, 
but  of  the  Reformed  Church  also,  as  it  stood  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  It  involves  in  this  respect,  what  would  have  been 
counted,  at  that  time,  not  only  a  perversion,  but  a  very  serious 
perversion  of  the  true  Protestant  doctrine.  Now,  with  this  neo- 
logical  and  sectarian  view,  we  find  the  modern  Puritan  theory 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  to  be  in  full  agreement.  Both  sink  its 
objective  virtue  wholly  out  of  sight.  Both  do  this,  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  making  the  service  spiritual  and  rational,  instead  of 
simply  ritual.  Both,  in  this'  way,  wrong  the  claims  of  Chris- 
tianity as  a  supernatural  life,  in  favour  of  its  claims  as  a  divine 
doctrine.  Both  proceed  on  the  same  false  abstraction,  by  which 
soul  and  body,  outward  and  inward,  are  made  to  be  absolutely 
different,  and  in  some  sense  really  antagonistic,  spheres  of  exist- 
ence. Both  show  the  same  utter  disregard  to  the  authority  of 
all  previous  history,  and  affect  to  construct  the  whole  theory  of 
the  Church,  doctrine,  sacraments,  and  all,  in  the  way  of  inde- 
pendent private  judgment,  from  the  Bible  and  common  sense. 
Both,  in  all  this,  involve  a  like  defection,  and  substantially  to  the 
same  extent,  from  the  creed  of  the  Reformation ;  and  would 
have  been  regarded  accordingly,  not  only  by  Luther,  but  by  Cal- 
vin also,  and  Beza,  and  Ursinus,  and  the  fathers  of  the  Reformed 
Church  generally,  as  alike  treasonable  to  the  interest,  which  has 
become  identified  with  their  great  names. 


154  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

This  much,  we  say,  is  clear.  Let  it  carry  with  it  such  weight 
as  may  of  right  belong  to  it;  and  no  more.  The  question  is  not 
to  be  decided,  we  all  know,  by  church  authority  and  mere  blind 
tradition.  The  primitive  Church  may  have  gone  astray  from  the 
very  start.  The  fathers  of  the  Reformation  were  not  infallible; 
and  it  must  be  allowed,  that  the  life  of  the  Reformation,  in  its 
Jirst  form,  was  the  product  or  birth  spiritually  of  the  Catholic 
Church  as  it  stood  before,  and  not  of  the  sects  that  broke  away 
from  it  in  the  middle  ages.  If  the  Reformers  had  sprung  from 
this  line  of  witnesses  on  the  outside,  it  is  quite  likeJy  their  Pro- 
testantism would  have  been  something  vastly  different  from  the 
gigantic  new  creation  we  find  it  to  be  in  fact.  The  birth,  it  may 
be  taken  for  granted,  did  partake  largely  of  the  character  of  the 
womb,  in  which  it  had  been  carried  for  so  many  centuries  be- 
fore. These  Catholic  Reformers  may  have  been  wrong,  in  the 
case  now  before  us,  as  in  many  other  points.  Whole  Christen- 
dom may  have  been  wrong,  not  only  in  the  form,  but  in  the  very 
substance  of  its  faith,  with  regard  to  the  sacraments,  for  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  years;  till  this  modern  view  began  to  reveal 
itself  in  the  Protestant  world,  partly  in  the  form  of  infidelity, and 
partly  in  the  form  of  a  claim  to  superior  evangelical  piety.  The 
coincidence  in  this  case  too  may  be  accidental  only,  and  not 
natural  or  necessary.  With  regard  to  all  this,  we  utter  here  no 
positive  judgment.  We  wish  simply  to  exhibit  facts  as  they 
stand.  But  in  this  character,  they  have  their  solemn  weight. 
They  create  a  powerful  presumption,  as  I  before  said,  ofrainst 
the  modern  Puritan  view,  and  impose  upon  all  an  d  priori  obli- 
gation of  great  force,  not  to  acquiesce  in  it  without  examina- 
tion. 


CHAPTER   III. 


AN  ATTEMPT  TO  PLACE  THE  DOCTRINE  IN  ITS  PROPER  SCIEN- 
TIFIC FORM. 


It  has  been  already  admitted  that  the  Calvinistic  theory  of  the 
Eucharistic  Presence,  as  exhibited  more  or  less  distinctly  in  all 
the  Reformed  symbols  of  the  sixteenth  century,  is  embarrassed 
with  some  difficulties.  These  however  concern  at  last  not  so 
much  the  fact  itself,  which  may  be  said  to  constitute  the  true  and 
proper  substance  of  the  doctrine,  as  the  defective  form  in  which 
it  was  attempted  to  bring  it  before  the  understanding.  It  was 
always  held  indeed  that  the  fact  was  in  its  own  nature  a  mystery, 
not  to  be  reduced  to  any  clear  explanation  in  this  way :  but  still 
it  became  necessary  in  the  controversy  with  Romanism  and  Lu- 
theranism  on  the  one  side  and  the  Socinanizing  tendency  on  the 
other,  not  only  to  define  and  describe  the  limits  of  the  fact  itself 
at  every  point,  but  also  to  go  a  certain  length  at  least,  in  endea- 
vouring to  beat  down  popular  objections,  and  meet  the  demands 
of  the  common  reason.  The  success  of  such  an  effort  hung  ne- 
cessarily, to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  on  tlie  general  theological 
and  philosophical  culture  of  the  time.  As  this  has  been  in  some 
measure  superseded  by  later  intellectual  advances,  it  ought  not  to 
be  counted  strange  tiiat  the  doctrine  now  before  us,  as  well  as 
the  entire  religious  system  of  the  same  period,  should  be  found 
to  exhibit  some  vulnerable  points  as  it  regards  form  and  outward 
representation.     This  we  find  to  be  the  case  in  fact. 


156  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


SECTION  I. 

PRELIMINARY  POSITIONS. 

Calvin's  theory  seems  to  labor  particularly  at  three  points;  all 
connected  with  a  false  psychology,  as  applied  either  to  the  person 
of'  Christ  or  the  persons  of  his  people. 

In  the  Jirst  place  he  does  not  make  a  sufficiently  clear  dis- 
tinction, between  the  idea  of  the  organic  law  which  constitutes 
the  proper  identity  of  a  human  body,  and  the  material  volume  it 
is  found  to  embrace  as  exhibited  to  the  senses.  A  true  and  per- 
fect body  must  indeed  appear  in  the  form  of  organized  matter. 
As  a  mere  law,  it  can  have  no  proper  reality.  But  still  the  mat- 
ter, apart  from  the  law,  is  in  no  sense  the  body.  Only  as  it  is 
found  to  be  transfused  with  the  active  presence  of  the  law  at 
every  point,  and  in  this  way  filled  with  the  form  of  life,  can  it  be 
said  to  have  any  such  character ;  and  then  it  is  of  course  as  the 
medium  simply,  by  which  what  is  inward  and  invisible  is  ena- 
bled to  gain  for  itself  a  true  outward  existence.  The  principle 
of  the  body  as  a  system  of  life,  the  original  salient  point  of  its 
being  as  a  whole,  is  in  no  respect  material.  It  is  not  bound  of 
course,  for  its  identity,  to  any  particular  portion  of  matter  as 
such.  If  the  matter  which  enters  into  its  constitution  were 
changed  every  hour,  it  would  still  remain  the  same  body;  since 
that  which  passed  away  in  each  case  would  have  no  more  right 
to  be  considered  a  part  of  the  man  than  it  had  before  entering 
the  law  of  life  in  his  person,  and  the  demands  of  this  law  would 
always  be  abundantly  satisfied  by  the  matter  that  might  fill  it  at 
each  moment.  A  real  communication  then  between  the  body 
of  Christ  and  the  bodies  of  his  saints,  does  not  imply  necessarily 
the  gross  imagination  of  any  transition  of  his  flesh  as  such  into 
their  persons.  This  would  be  indeed  of  no  meaning  or  value. 
For  how  could  the  flesh  of  Christ  as  something  sundered  from 
the  law  of  life  in  the  presence  of  which  only  it  can  have  any 
force,  and  in  this  form  sui)ernaturally  inserted  into  my  flesh 
under  the  like  abstract  view,  bring  with  it  any  advantaore  or 
profit?  In  sucli  sense  as  this,  we  viaij  say,  without  wresting  our 
Saviour's  words,  "the  flesh  profiteth  nothing."  And  here  pre- 
cisely comes  into  view,  one  of  the  most  valid  and  forcible  objec- 
tions to  the  dogma  of  the  Roman  Church,  as  well  as  to  the 
kindred  doctrine  of  Luther;  in  both  of  which  so  much  is  made 
to  hang  on  a  sort  of  tactual  participation  of  the  matter  of  Christ's 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  157 

body  in  the  sacrament,  rather  than  in  the  law  simply  of  his  true 
human  life.  This  is  urged  in  fact  by  Calvin  himself,  with  great 
force,  against  the  false  theories  in  question.  This  shows  of 
course  that  he  was  not  insensible  to  the  idea  of  the  distinction 
now  mentioned ;  a  point  abundantly  manifest  besides  from  his 
whole  way  of  representing  the  subject  in  general.  Still  it  seems 
to  have  been  a  matter  of  correct  feeling  with  him,  rather  than  of 
clear  scientific  apprehension.  Hence  he  never  brings  it  forward 
in  a  distinct  way,  and  never  turns  it  to  any  such  account  in  the 
service  of  his  theory,  as  in  the  nature  of  the  case  he  might  have 
done.  Thus  too  much  account  is  made  perhaps  of  the  flesh  of 
Christ  under  a  local  form,  (here  confined  to  the  right  hand  ol 
God  in  heaven,)  as  the  seat  and  fountain  of  the  new  life  which 
is  to  be  conveyed  into  his  people;  and  the  attempt  which  is  then 
made  to  bring  the  two  parties  together,  notwithstanding  such  vast 
separation  in  space,  must  be  allowed  to  be  somewhat  awkward 
and  violent.  No  wonder  that  men  of  less  dialectic  subtlety  than 
the  great  theologian  himself,  were  at  a  loss  to  make  any  thing 
out  of  si3ch  a  seeming  contradiction  in  terms.  In  this  case  he 
may  be  said  to  cut  the  knot,  which  his  speculation  fails  to  solve. 
Christ's  body  is  altogether  in  heaven  only.  How  then  is  its 
vivific  virtue  to  be  carried  into  the  believer?  By  the  miraculous 
energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  which  however  cannot  be  said  in  the 
case  so  much  to  bring  his  life  down  to  us,  as  it  serves  rather  to 
raise  us  in  the  exercise  of  faith  to  the  presence  of  the  Saviour  on 
high.  The  result  however  is  a  real  participation  always  in  his 
full  and  entire  humanity.  But  the  representation  is  confused, 
and  brings  the  mind  no  proper  satisfaction.  If  for  the  "  vivific 
virtue"  of  Christ's  flesh  Calvin  had  been  led  to  substitute  dis- 
tinctly the  idea  of  the  organic  law  of  Christ's  human  life,  his  theory 
would  have  assumed  at  once  a  much  more  consistent  and  intel- 
ligible form.  For  in  this  view,  it  cannot  be  said  that  local,  ma- 
terial contact  is  necessary,  to  sustain  a  true  and  strict  continuity 
of  existence,  either  in  the  sphere  of  nature  or  in  that  of  grace. 

A  second  point  of  difficulty  in  the  case  of  Calvin's  theory  is, 
that  he  fails  to  insist,  with  proper  freedom  and  emphasis,  on  the 
absolute  unity  of  what  we  denominate  pcrsw,  both  in  the  case 
of  Christ  himself  and  in  the  case  of  his  people.  Hence  he  dwells 
too  much  on  the  life-giving  virtue  of  C\\x\s\!sjiesh  simply;  as  if 
this  were  not  necessarily  and  inseparably  knit  to  his  soul,  and 
to  his  divinity  too,  as  a  single  indivisible  life;  so  that  where  the 
latter  form  of  existence  is  present  ina  real  way,  the  other  must 
be  really  present  too,  so  far  as  its  inmost  nature  is  concerned, 
to  the  same  extent.  When  I  travel,  whether  by  the  eye  or  in 
thought  simply,  to  the  planet  Saturn,  the  act  includes  my  whole 
person  ;  not  the  body  as  such  of  course,  but  just  as  little  the  soul 

14 


158  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

under  the  like  abstraction  ;  it  is  the  act  of  that  single  and  abso- 
lutely one  life  which  1  call  myself,  as  the  unity  of  both  soul  and 
body.  And  if  it  were  possible  in  any  way  that  the  thought 
which  carries  me  to  Saturn,  could  be  made  to  assume  there  a 
real  concrete  existence,  holding  in  organic  connection  with  my 
own  life,  it  must  as  a  human  existence  appear  under  a  human 
form  ;  which  in  such  a  case  would  be  as  strictly  a  continuation 
of  my  bodily  as  well  as  spiritual  being,  as  though  it  had  sprung^ 
immediately  from  the  local  presence  of  my  body  itself  So  the 
acts  of  the  incarnate  Word  belong  to  his  person  as  a  whole. 
Not  as  though  his  humanity  separately  considered  could  be  said 
to  exercise  the  functions  of  his  divinity  ;  for  this  is  a  false  dis- 
tinction in  the  case  ;  and  we  have  just  as  little  reason  to  say  that 
the  divinity  thus  separately  considered  ever  exercises  the  same 
functions.  They  are  exercised  by. the  theanthropic  Person  of 
the  Mediator,  as  one  and  indivisible.  If  then  Christ's  life  be 
conveyed  over  to  the  persons  of  his  people  at  all,  in  a  real  and 
not  simply  figurative  way,  it  must  be  so  carried  over  under  a 
human  form,  including  both  the  constituents  of  humanity,  body 
as  well  as  soul ;  and  the  new  bodily  existence  thus  produced, 
must  be  considered,  independently  of  all  local  connection,  a 
continuation  in  the  strictest  sense  of  Christ's  life  under  the  same 
form.  This  point  does  not  appear  to  have  been  apprehended, 
with  sufficient  distinctness,  by  Calvin  and  the  Reformers  gene- 
rally. Hence  more  or  less  confusion,  and  at  times  some  appa- 
rent contradiction,  in  tracing  the  derivation  of  Christ's  human 
life  into  the  person  of  the  believer.  Bound  as  he  felt  himself 
to  be  to  resist  everything  like  the  idea  of  a  local  presence,  he 
found  it  necessary  to  resolve  the  whole  process  into  a  special 
supernatural  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  a  sort  of  foreign  me- 
dium introduced  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  case.  Thus  the  view 
taken  of  Christ's  human  nature  becomes  altogether  too  abstract,} 
and  it  is  made  difficult  to  keep  hold  of  the  idea  of  a  true  organic 
connection  between  his  life  in  this  form,  and  that  of  his  j)eople. 
It  is  not  easy  then  of  course  to  maintain  a  clear  distinction  be- 
tween such  a  communication  of  the  substance  of  Christ's  life, 
and  an  influence  in  the  way  of  mere  spiritual  power;  to  which 
conception  Calvin's  theory  was  in  fact  always  made  to  sink  by 
his  high-tened  Lutheran  adversaries;  although  he  never  failed  to 
protest  against  this  as  grossly  perverse  and  unjust,  and  has  taken 
the  greatest  pains  indeed  to  save  himself  at  this  point  iVom  mis-  • 
construction.*     But  his  theory  it  must  be  allowed,  carries  here 

*  It  is  wonderful,  with  what  pertinacity  the  view  of  Calvin  has  been  mis- 
represented  at  this  point.  Rigid  Lutherans  have  charged  him  with  a  sort  of 
theological  duplicity,  as  pretending  to  differ  from  Zuingli,  while  he  agreed 
with  him  in  tact ;  and  modern  Calvinists,  who  have  fallen  away  entirely  trom 


sciKNTiFic  state:ment.  15f 

a  so-mevvhat  fantastic  character.  So  on  the  otlier  hand,  the^re- 
lation  of  soul  and  body  in  the  person  of  the  believer  appears  too 
abstract  also,  accordingr  to  his  view.  He  will  hear  of  no  trans- 
lation  of  the  material  particles  of  Christ's  body  into  our  bodies. 
The  vivific  virtue  of  his  flesh  can  be  apprehended  on  our  part 
only  by  faith,  and  in  this  form  of  course  by  the  soul  only,  through 

the  sacramental  doctrine  of  the  sixteenth  century,  would  fain  bring  him  down 
too,  if  it  were  possible,  from  the  high  position  wliich  it  is  acknowledged  his 
language  sometimes  seems  to  imply.  Even  the  Form  of  Concord  is  chargeable 
here  with  great  injustice.  It  divides  the  Sacramentarians  into  two  classes; 
the  more  gross,  who  openly  profess  what  they  believe  in  their  hearts  ;  and 
the  politic,  who  use  something  like  Lutheran  language  only  to  cover  the  same 
error.  These  last,  re])resenting  of  course  the  Calvinistic  or  proper  Reformed 
view,  are  made  to  be  "omnium  nocentissimi  sacramentarii ;'>'>  because,  it  is 
said,  they  pretend  themselves  to  allow  a  "  true  presence  of  the  true  substan- 
tial and  living  body  and  blood  of  Christ  in  the  Lord's  Supper,"  and  yet 
declare  it  to  be  spiritual  only,  and  by  faith.  Under  these  high  sounding  terms, 
they  in  fact  will  have  nothing  to  be  present  but  mere  bread  and  wine.  "  For 
the  term  spiritually,  signifies  with  them  only  Christ's  Spirit,  or  the  virtue  of 
his  absent  body,  and  his  merit,"  &c.  So  such  writers  of  the  present  day  as 
Guerike,  (Symbolik,  p.  452-458,)  Rudelbach,  (Ref.  Luth.  und  Union,  p.  ISS  fF.) 
and  Scheibel,  (Das  Abendmahl,  p.  331  ft.)  spare  no  pains,  in  their  zeal  for 
Lutheranism,  to  establish  the  same  representation.  They  insist  upon  it  that 
Calvin  only  plays  with  words,  in  pretending  to  go  beyond  Zuingli  in  his  theory 
of  Christ's  presence  in  the  Supper;  that  all  comes  at  last  to  the  conception  of 
mere  power  and  effect,  as  it  regards  communion  with  his  person,  and  that  the 
sacrament  is  significative  simply  of  the  grace  it  represents,  and  nothing  more. 
But  it  is  easy  to  see  that  such  judgment  rests  altogether,  in  this  case,  on  the 
fixed  prejudice  already  established,  that  any  communion  with  the  life  of 
Christ's  body,  in  order  to  be  real,  must  hold  in  some  bodily  way,  and  not  by 
the  soul.  Grant  this,  and  Calvin's  theory,  of  course,  leaves  no  room  for  any 
communion  of  the  sort.  But  this,  Calvin,  at  least,  did  not  grant.  On  the 
contrary  he  held,  that  to  make  the  communion  dependent  on  any  merely 
corporeal  act,  considered  as  such  only,  was  in  the  nature  of  the  case  to  de- 
prive it  of  all  reality  or  value.  The  more  spiritual,  in  his  view,  the  more  real. 
All  that  Luther  aimed  to  secure  by  his  theory  of  an  oral  communication,  (for 
with  him  too  this  must  be  hyperphysical  to  be  of  any  account,)  Calvin  pro- 
posed  to  reach  more  satisfactorily  by  pressing  the  idea  of  a  spiritual  commu- 
nication. He  declared  himself  of  one  mind  with  Luther  as  to  the  fact ;  the 
only  difference  between  them  was  as  to  the  mode.  This  was  the  position  taken 
also  by  the  Reformed  Church  in  general.  Did  not  Calvin  know  what  Luther 
meant  by  his  doctrine  ?  And  shall  we  not  believe  him  when  he  professes  to 
hold  a  sacramental  union  with  Christ's  body  and  blood,  in  the  same  sense, 
simply  because  he  conceives  it  to  take  place  in  a  different  way  ?  There  is  no 
reason  to  question  that  he  held  and  taught  a  real  communication,  not  with  the 
power  and  operation  of  Christ's  body  merely,  but  with  its  true  substantial  life 
itself  The  elements,  as  such,  were  signs,  and  might  be  separated  from  the 
res  sacrament  i,  as  Augustine  also  explicitly  teaches  ;  but  the  sacramental  trans- 
action,  as  a  whole,  was  no  such  sign  or  symbol  only.  It  was  held  to  exhibit 
what  is  represented  ;  as  much  so  as  the  dove,  to  borrow  his  own  illustration, 
in  whose  form  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  upon  the  Saviour  at  his  baptism. 
"It  is  perfectly  plain,"  says  Bret  Schneider,  "that  Calvin's  theory  includes 
what  with  Luther  was  the  main  object,  namely,  the  true,  full  participation  of 
Christ's  body  and  blood,  to  the  strengthening  and  quickening  of  the  soul; 
and  that  the  question,  whether  this  take  place  under  the  bread,  or  at  the  same 
time  with  it,  by  the  mouth  or  by  the  soul,  does  not  touch  the  substance  of  the 
case.  For  unless  we  conceive  of  the  body  of  Christ  as  something  sensible^ 
and  thus  allow  a  Capernaitic  eating,  the  oral  participation  must  become  at  last 


160  TJIE    MYSTICAL    I";RESENCE.       . 

the  power  of  the  Holy  Gliost.  Still  it  extends  to  the  body  also, 
in  the  end.  But  all  this,  it  would  seem,  in  a  way  transcending 
all  known  analogies,  in  virtue  of  an  extraordinary  divine  power 
present  for  the  purpose,  rather  than  as  the  natural  and  necessary 
result  of  the  new  life  lodged  in  the  soul  itself  This  is  not  satis- 
factory. Christ's  Person  is  one,  and  the  person  of  the  believer 
is  one  ;  and  to  secure  a  real  communication  of  the  whole  human 
life  of  the  first  over  into  the  personality  of  fhe  second,  it  is  only 
necessary  that  the  communication  should  spring  from  the  centre 
of  Christ's  life  and  pass  over  to  the  centre  of  ours.  This  can  be 
only  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  the  Holy  Ghost  in  this  case  is 
not  to  be  sundered  from  the  Person  of  Christ.  We-  must  say 
rather  that  this,  and  no  other,  is  the  very  form  in  which  Christ's 
life  is  made  present  in  the  Church,  for  the  purposes  of  the  chris- 
tian salvation. 

The  third  source  of  embarrassment  belonging  to  the  form  in 
which  Calvin  exhibits  his  theory,  is  found  in  this  that  he  makes 
no  clear  distinction  between  the  individual  personal  life  of  Christ, 
and  the  same  life  in  a  generic  view.  In  every  sphere  of  life,  the 
individual  and  the  general  are  found  closely  united  in  the  same 
subject.  Thus,  in  the  vegetable  world,  the  acorn,  cast  into  the 
ground,  and  transformed  subsequently  into  the  oak  of  a  hundred 
years,  constitutes  in  one  view  only  a  single  existence.  But  in  '^ 
another,  it  includes  the  force  of  a  life  that  is  capable  of  reaching 
far  beyond  all  such  individual  limits.  For  the  oak  may  produce 
ten  thousand  other  acorns,  and  thus  repeat  its  own  life  in  a 
whole  forest  of  trees.  Still,  in  the  end,  the  life  of  the  forest,  in 
such  a  case,  is  nothing  more  than  an  expansion  of  the  life  that 
lay  involved  at  first  in  the  original  acorn ;  and  the  whole  general 
existence  thus  produced  is  bound  together,  inwardly  and  organi- 
cally, by  as  true  and  close  a  unity  as  that  which  holds  in  any  of 
the  single  existences  embraced,  in  it,  separately  considered.  So 
among  men,  every  parent  may  be  regarded  as  the  bearer  not 
only  of  a  single  individual  life,  that  which  constitutes  his  own 
person,  but  of  a  general  life  also,  that  reveals  itself  in  his  chil- 
dren. Thus  especially,  in  an  eminent  sense,  the  first  man  Adam 
is  exhibited  to  our  view  always  under  a  twofold  character.  In 
one  respect  he  is  simply  a  man,  to  be  counted  as  one  amongst 
men  since  born,  his  sons.     In  another  he  is  the  man ;  in  whose 

nothing  else  than  a  participation  through  the  soul,  and  it  is  not  necessary  that 
the  Lord's  spiritual  body  should  be  taken  in  l)y  the  mouth,  in  order  to  have 
effect  upon  the  soul."  See  the  judgment  of  S<iilcie7-macher,  with  regard  to 
the  same  point,  as  already  quoted  on  page  7o.  Knapp,  Reinhard,  &c..  of 
course,  try  to  sink  the  Calvinistic  theory  somewhat  below  the  level  of  their 
owu,  as  they  pretend  to  uphold  the  Lutheran  view  iu  opposition  to  it.  But, 
as  we  have  seen,  they  come  short,  in  fact,  both  of  Calvin  and  Luther,  in  the 
case. 


SCIENTIFIC    STATKMENT.  161 

person  was  included  the  whole  human  race.     Thus  he  bears  the 
name,  (in  Hebrew,)  of  the  race  itself;  and  it  is  under  this  generic 
title  particularly  that  he  is  presented  to  our  notice  in  the  sacred 
history  of  the  Bible.     His  individual  personality  of  course  was 
limited  wholly  to  himself.  But  a  whole  world  of  like  separate  per- 
sonalities lay  involved  in  his  life,  at  the  same  time,  as  a  generic 
principle  or  root.  And  all  these,  in  a  deep  sense,  form  at  last  but 
one  and  the  same  life.  Adam  lives  in  his  posterity,  as  truly  as  he 
has  ever  lived  in  his  own  person.     They  participate  in  his  whole 
nature,  soul  and  body,  and  are  truly  bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh 
of  his  flesh.     So  in  the  case  before  us,  the  life  of  Christ  is  to  be 
viewed   also  under  the  same  twofold  aspect.     Not  indeed  as  if 
the  individual  and  general  here,  might  be  supposed  to  hold  under 
the   same  form  exactly,  as   in  the  cases  which  have  been   men- 
tioned.    The  relation  of  the  single  oak  to  its  off'spring  forest,  is 
not  the  same  fully  with  that  of  the  first   man  to   his  posterity. 
Nor  is  this  last  at  all  commensurate  with  tiie  relation  of  Christ 
to  his  Church.     This  will   appear  hereafter.     Still,  however,  for 
the  point  now  in  hand,  the  cases  are  parallel.    The  distinction  of 
an  individual  and  a  general  life   in  the  person  of  Christ,  is  just 
as  necessary  as  the  same  distinction  in  the  person  of  Adam;  and 
the  analogy  is  at  all  events  sufficient  to  show,  that  there  may  be 
a  real  communication  of  Christ's  life  to  his  people,  without  the 
idea  of  any  thing  like  a  local  mixture  with  his  person.     In  one 
view  the  Saviour  is  a  man-,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  partaking  of  the 
same  flesh  and  blood  with  other  men,  though  joined  at  the  same 
time  in    mysterious  union  with  the  everlasting  Word.     But  in 
another  view  he  is  agfain  the  man  ;    in  a  hi2her  sense  than  this 
could  be  said  of  Adam  ;  emphatically  the  Son  of  Man,  in  whose 
person  stood  revealed  the  true  idea  of  humanity,  under  its  ulti- 
mate and  most  comprehensive  form.   Without  any  loss  or  change 
of  character  in  the  first  view,  his  life  is  carried  over  in  this  last 
view  continually  into  the  persons  of  his  people.  He  lives  in  him- 
self, and  yet  lives   in   them  really  and  truly  at  the  same  time. 
This  distinction  between  the  individual  and  the  general  in  the 
life  of  Christ,  Calvin  does  not  turn  to  account  as  he  might  have 
done.     That  the  force  of  it  was,  in  some  measure,  present  to  his 
mind,  seems  altogether  clear.     But  it  is  not  brought  out  in  a 
distinct,  full  way;  and  his  system  is  made  to  labour  under  some 
unnecessary  difficulty  on  this  account. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  three  scientific  determinations  to 
which  our  attention  has  now  been  directed,  when  tdken  together 
and  clearly  affirmed,  must  serve  to  modify  and  improve  very 
materially  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  Christ's  union  with  his 
people,  so  far  as  the  mode  of  its  statement  is  concerned  ;  reliev- 
ing it  in  fact  from  its   most  serious  difficulties,  and  placing  it 

14* 


162  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

under  a  form  with  which  even  the  abstract  understanding  itself 
can  have  no  gpod  right  to  find  fault.  For  the  positions  here  ap- 
plied to  the  case  are  in  no  sense  arbitrary  or  hypothetical.  They 
belong  to  the  actual  science  of  the  present  time,  and  have  a 
right  to  be  respected  in  any  inquiry  which  has  this  question  for 
its  object.  No  such  inquiry  can  deserve  to  be  considered  sci- 
entific, if  it  fail  to  take  them  into  view.  At  the  same  time  it  is 
equally  clear,  that  in  all  this  the  true  and  proper  substance  of 
the  old  doctrine  is  preserved.  Here  we  stand  divided  from 
Rationalism  and  modern  Puritanism.  We  agree  with  them,  that 
the  doctrine  under  its  old  form  has  difficulties,  with  which  the 
understanding  had  a  right  to  quarrel.  But,  to  get  clear  of  these, 
theij-\\?i\e  thought  good  to  cast  away  the  whole  doctrine,  sub- 
stance and  form  together.  A  process  of  pure  negation  and  de- 
struction, which,  in  such  a  case,  can  never  be  right.  We  hold 
fast  to  the  substance,  while,  for  the  very  sake  of  doing  so,  we 
endeavour  to  place  it  in  a  better  form..  Of  this  none  can  have  a 
right  to  complain  ;  and  least  of  all  those  who  have  given  up  the 
whole  doctrine.  They  are  negative  only,  in  the  case.  We  are 
positive.  We  cling  to  the  old  ;  in  its  life,  however,  rather  than 
by  slavish  adhesion  to  its  letter.  So  it  must  be  indeed  in  the  case 
of  all  religious  truth,  dogmatically  considered.  It  cannot  hold 
in  the  form  of  dead  tradition.  But  neither  can  it  be  disjoined 
from  the  life  of  the  past.  Its  true  form  is  that  of  histori/ ;  in 
which  the  past,  though  left  behind  in  one  view,  is  always  in  an- 
other taken  up  by  the  present,  and  borne  along  with  it  as  the 
central  power  of  its  own  life. 

When  we  speak,  however,  of  putting  the  doctrine  in  question 
\into  a  form  more  satisfiictory  to  the  understanding,  it  is  not  to 
be  imagined  of  course  that  we  consider  it  to  be  any  the  less  a 
mystery,  on  this  account,  in  its  own  nature.  The  mystical  union 
of  Christ  with  his  Churcli  is  something,  that,  in  the  very  nature 
of  the  case,  transcends  all  analogies  drawn  from  any  lower  sphere 
of  life;  which  it  is  vain  to  expect,  therefore,  that  the  finite  under- 
standing as  such  can  ever  fathom  or  grasp.  Still,  however,  much 
depends  on  the  statement  even  of  what  is  incomprehensible,  for 
its  beinfT  brought  to  stand  at  least  in  a  riirht  relation  to  the  un- 
derstanding.  The  understanding  may  be  reconciled,  relatively, 
to  that  which  it  cannot  comprehend  absolutely.  It  may  be  set 
right  in  relation  to  a  mystery  negatively,  where  it  has  no  power 
still  to  grasp  it  in  a  positive  way,  but  can  only  fall  back  for  relief 
at  last  on  the  reason,  as  a  deeper  and  more  comprehensive 
power.  But  it  is  much  that  false  concej)tions  be  taken  out  of 
the  way,  and  that  no  room  be  given  for  objections  that  lie  in  the 
end,  not  against  the  truth  itself,  but  only  against  the  form  of  its 
representation.     It  is  much  also  that  this  last  be  made  to  stand 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  163 

in  true  correspondence  with  known  analogies  in  other  epheres 
of  life,  and  especially  tvith  the  organic  idea  of  the  new  creation 
itself;  which,  with  all  its  supernatural  character  as  a  whole,  must 
always  be  regarded  as  a  continuation  still  of  the  natural  crea- 
tion in  its  highest  form,  and  as  'such  most  perfectly  symmetrical 
and  self-consistent  in  all  its  paits.  It  is  only  in  such  view;  that 
we  may  be  allowed  to  speak  of  bringing  the  doctrine  before  us 
nearer  to  the  understanding,  by  any  improvement  that  may  be 
possible  in  the  mode  of  its  exhibition. 

Taking  advantage  then  of  the  scientific  truths  which  have 
^been  already  mentioned  and  which  Calvin  failed -af  least  to  apply 
to  the  subject  in  their  full  force,  and  keeping  in  view  always  the 
authority  of  God's  most  holy  revelation,  (not  so  much  single 
abstract  texts  as  the  life  and  power  of  the  word  rather  as^a 
whole),  I  will  now  endeavour  to  throw  the  doctrine  comprehen- 
sively into  the  form  which  the  nature  of  the  case  seems  to  me  to' 
require.  The  way  will  then  be  open  for  the  actual  trial  of  the 
doctrine,  by  the  Scriptures  themselves.  These  form  of  course  the 
last  and  only  conclusive- measure  of  truth  in  the  case.  But  before 
we  make  our  appeal  to  them,  it  is  important  that  we  should  have 
clearly  in  view  the  precise,  object  for  which*  they  are  to  be  con- 
sulted, 

TJie  subject  may  be  exhibited,  to  the  best  advanla^  perhaps, 
ill  the  way  of  successive  theses  or  propositions,  accompanied 
with  such  illustration  as  each  case  may  seem  to  require  in  order 
to  be  made  clear.  These  will  have  respect  first  to  the  Mystical 
Union,  and  then  to  the  question  of  the  Eucharist. 


104  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


SECTION  II. 

THE    MYSTICAL    UNION. 


1.    The  human  world  in  its  present  natural  state,  as  descended 
from  Adam,  is  sundered  from  its  proper  life  in  God  by.  sin,  and 
utterly  disabled  in  this  character  for  risirig  by  itself  to  am/  higher 
position.     Tlie  fall  of  Adam  was  the  fall  of  the  race.     Not  sim- 
ply because  he  represented  the  race,  but  because  the  race  was 
itself   comprehended   in    his  person.     The  terrible    fact  of  sin 
revealed  itself  in  him  as  a  world-fact,  that  was  now  incorporated 
with  the  inmost  life  of  humanity  itself,  and   became  from  this 
point  onward  an  insurmountable  law  in  the  progress  of  its  deve- 
lopment.    The  ruin  under  which  we  lie  is  an  organic  ruin  ;   the 
rurn  of  our  nature  ;   universal  and  whole,  not  simply  because  all 
men  are  sinners,  but  as  making  all  men  to  be  sinners.     Men  do 
not  make  their  nature,  their  nature  makes  them.     To  hnve  part 
in  the  human  nature  at  all,  we  must  have  part  in  it  primarily  as  a  [ 
fallen  nature;  a  spiritually  impotent  nature;  from  whose  consti- 
tution the  principle  of  life  has  departed  in  its  very  root.     Not  by 
accident  or  bad  example   only,  as  the   Pelagians  vainly  dream, 
are  we  all  in  the  same  condemnation.     There  is  a  law  of  sin  at 
work  in  us  from  our  birth.     The  whole  Pelagian  view  of  life  is 
shallow  in  the  extreme.     It  sees  in  the   hum;in  race   only  a  vast 
aggregation  of  particular    men,  outwardly  put  together;  a  huge 
living  sand-heap,  and  nothing  more.     But  the  human  race  is  not 
a  sand-heap.     It  is  the  power  of  a    single   life.     It  is  bound  to- 
gether, not  outwardly,  but  inwardly.      Men  have  been  one  before 
they  became  many;  and  as  many,  they  are  still  one.     We  have 
a  perfect   right  then  to  say  that  Adam's  sin  is  imputed  to  all  his    • 
posterity.     Only  let  us  not  think  of  a  mere  outward  transfer  in  - 
the  case.    Against  such  imputation  the  objection  commonly  made 
to  the  doctrine  has  force.      It  would  be  to  .substitute  a  fiction  for 
a  fact.     No  imj)utation  of  that  sort  is  taught  in  the  Bible.     But 
the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin  to  his  posterity  involves  no  fiction. 
It  is  counted  to   them  simply  because  it  is  theirs  in  fact.     They 
are  born   into  Adam's   nature,  and  for  this  reason  only,  as  form- 
ing with  him  the   same  general  life,  they  are   born  also  into  his 
guilt. 

2.    The  union  in  ichich  we  stand  with  oitr  first  parent,  as  thus 

fallen,  extends   to  his  entire  person,  body  as  well  as  soul.     He 

did  not  fall  in  his  soul   simply,  nor  in  his  body  simply,  but  in 


;    SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  165 

both  at  once.  The  man  fell.  So  the  humanity  of  which  he 
was  the  root  fell  in  him  and  with  him,  to  the  same  extent.  The 
whole  became  corrupt.  And  now  as  such  it  includes  in  all  his 
posterity,  a  real  and  true  perpetuation  of  his  life  under  both 
forms  on  to  the  end  of  time.  They  partake  of  his  body  as  well 
as  of  his  soul.  Both  are  transmitted  by  ordinary  generation, 
the  same  identical  organic  life-stream,  from  one  age  onward 
always  to  another.  We  are  bone  of  his  bone,  and  flesh  of  his 
flesh,  and  blood  of  his  blood.  And  still  there  is  no  material 
communication,  no  local  contact.  Not  a  particle  of  Adam's 
body  has  come  into  ours.  The  identity  resolves  itself  at  last 
into  an  invisible  law;  and  it  is  not  one  law  for  the  body,  and 
another  law  for  the  soul ;  but  one  and  the  same  law  involves  the 
presence  of  both,  as  the  power  of  a  common  life.  Where  the 
law  works,  there  Adam's  life  is  reproduced,  body  and  soul  to- 
gether. And  still  the  individual  Adam  is  not  blended  with  his 
posterity  in  any  such  way,  as  to  lose  his  own  personality  or 
swallow  up  theirs.  His  identity  with  his  posterity  is  generic  ; 
but  none  the  less  real  or  close  on  this  account.  We  are  all 
familiar  with  the  case,  and  if  we  stop  to  think  of  it  at  all  can 
hardly  feel  perhaps  that  it  calls  for  any  explanation.  And  yet 
of  a  truth,  it  is  something  very  wonderful.  A  mystery  in  fact, 
that  goes  quite  beyond  the  region  of  the  understanding. 

3.  By  the  hypostatical  union  of  the  two  natures  in  the  person 
of  Jesus  Christ,  our  humanity  as  fallen  in  Adam  was  exalted 
again  to  a  new  and  imperishable  divine  life.  That  the  race  might 
be  saved,  it  was  necessary  that  a  work  should  be  wrought  not 
beyond  it,  but  in  it;  and  this  inward  salvation  to  be  effective 
must  lay  hold  of  the  race  itself  in  its  organic,  universal  character, 
before  it  could  extend  to  individuals,  since  in  no  other  form  was 
it  possible  for  it  to  cover  fully  the  breadth  and  depth  of  the  ruin 
that  lay  in  its  way.  Such  an  inward  salvation  of  the  race  re- 
quired that  it  should  be  joined  in  a  living  way  with  the  divine 
nature  itself,  as  represented  by  the  everlasting  Word  or  Logos, 
the  fountain  of  all  created  light  and  life.  The  Word  accord- 
ingly became  flesh,  that  is  assumed  humanity  into  union  with 
itself  It  was  not  an  act,  whose  force  was  intended  to  stop  in  the 
person  of  one  man  himself  to  be  transplanted  soon  afterwards 
to  heaven.  Nor  was  it  intended  merely  to  serve  as  the  neces- 
sary basis  of  the  great  work  of  atonement,  the  power  of  which 
might  be  applied  to  the  world  subsequently  in  the  way  of  out- 
ward imputation.  It  had  this  use  indeed,  but  not  as  its  first  and 
most  comprehensive  necessity.  The  object  of  the  incarnation 
was  to  couple  the  human  nature  in  real  union  with  the  Logos, 
as  a  permanent  source  of  life.  It  resulted  from  the  presence  of 
sin  only,  (itself  no  part  of  this  nature  in  its  original  constitution,) 


16G  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

that  the  union  thus  formed  called  the  Saviour  to  suffer.  As 
the  bearer  of  a  fallen  humanity  he  must  descend  with  it  to  the 
lowest  depths  of  sorrow  and  pain,  in  order  that  he  might  triumph 
with  it  again  in  the  power  of  his  own  imperishable  life.  In  ail 
this,  he  acted  for  himself  and  yet  for  the  race  he  re[)resented  at 
the  same  time.  For  it  was  no  external  relation  simply,  that  he 
sustained  to  this  last.  He  was  himself  the  race.  Humanity 
dwelt  in  his  person  as  the  second  Adam,  under  a  higher  form 
than  ever  it  carried  in  the  first. 

4.  The  VALUE  of  ChrisCs  sujfcrings  and  death,  as  mell  as  of 
his  entire  life,  in  relation  to  vicn,  springs  ivhoUy  from  the  view  of 
the,  incarnation,  now  presented.  The  assumption  of  humanity  on 
the  part  of  the  Logos  involved  the  necessity  of  suffering,  as  the 
only  way  in  which  the  new  life  with  which  it  was  thus  joined 
could  triumph  over  the  law  of  sin  and  death  it  was  called  to  sur- 
mount. The  passion  of  the  Son  of  God  was  the  world's  spiri- 
tual crisis,,  in  which  the  principle  of  health  came  to  its  last 
struggle  with  the  principle  of  disease,  and  burst  forth  from  the 
very  bosom  of  the  grave  itself  in  the  form  of  immortality.  This 
was  the  atonement,  Christ's  victory  over  sin  and  hell.  As  such 
it  forms  the  only  medium  of  salvation  to  men.  But  how?  Only 
as  the  value  of  it  is  made  over  in  each  case  to  the  subject,  who 
is  to  be  saved.  This  we  are  told  is  by  imputation.  But  does 
the  act  of  imputation  reckon  to  us  as  ours,  that  which  is  not 
ours  in  fact?  Does  it  proceed  upon  a  fiction  in  the  divine  mind? 
Just  as  little  as  in  the  case  of  our  relation  to  the  sin  of  Adam. 
This  last  is  not  a  foreign  evil  arbitrarily  set  over  to  our  account. 
It  is  immanent  to  our  nature  itself  Just  so  here.  The  atone- 
ment as  a  foreign  work,  could  not  be  made  to  reach  us  in  the 
way  of  a  true  salvation.  Only  as  it  may  be  considered  immanent 
in  our  nature  itself,  can  it  be  imputed  to  us  as  ours,  and  so  be- 
come available  in  us  for  its  own  ends.  And  this  is  its  character 
in  truth.  It  holds  in  humanity,  as  a  work  wrought  out  by  it  in 
Christ.  When  Christ  died  and  rose,  humanity  died  and  rose  at 
the  same  time  in  his  person  ;  not  figuratively,  but  truly  ;  just  as 
it  had  fallen  before  in  the  person  of  Adam. 

5.  The  Christian  Salvation  then,  as  thus  rom.prchcndcd  in 
Christ,  is  a  new  Life,  in  the  deepest  sense  of  the  ivord.  Not  a 
doctrine  merely  for  the  mind  to  embrace.  Not  an  event  simply 
to  be  remembered  with  faith,  as  the  basis  of  piety  in  the  way  of 
exatnple  or  other  outward  support;  the  sense  of  some,  who  have 
much  to  say  of  Chistianity  as  a  fact  in  their  own  shallow  way. 
Not  the  constitution  only  of  a  new  order  of  spiritual  relations, 
or  a  new  system  of  divine  appliances,  in  the  case  of  fallen,  help- 
less man.  But  a  new  Life  introduced  into  the  very  centre  of 
humanity  itself     In  this  view,  though  bound   most  closely  with 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  167 

the  organic  development  of  the  world's  history  as  it  stood  before, 
it  is  by  no  means  comprehended  in  it,  or  carried  by  it,  as  its 
proper  product  and  fruit.  Christianity  is  more  than  a  continu- 
ation simply  of  Judaism.  It  claims  the  character  of  a  creation, 
by  which  old  things  in  the  end  must  pass  awayT'and  all  things 
become  new.  This  indicates,  however,  its  relation  to  the  old 
order.  That  is  not  to  be  annihilated  by  it,  but  taken  up  into  it  as 
a  higher  life.  The  incarnation  is  supernatural;  not  magical, 
however ;  not  fantastic  or  visionary  ;  not  something  to  be  gazed 
at  as  a  transient  prodigy  in  the  world's  history.  It  is  the  super- 
natural linking  itself  to  the  onward  flow  of  the  world's  life,  and 
becoming  thenceforward  itself  the  ground  and  principle  of  the 
entire  organism,  now  poised  at  last  on  its  true  centre.  In  this 
sense  Christianity  is  indeed  a /ac< ;  even  as  the  first  creation 
was  a  Fact ;  a  Fact  for  all  time ;  a  world-fact. 

0.  The  new  Life  of  ivhicJi  Chj-ist  is  the  Source  and  Organic 
Principle^  is  in  all  respects  a  true  Human  lAfe.  It  is  in  one 
sense  a  divine  life.  It  springs  from  the  Logos.  But  it  is  not 
the  life  of  the  Logos  separately  taken.  It  is  the  life  of  the  Word 
made  flesh,  the  divinity  joined  in  personal  union  with  our  hu- 
manity. It  was  not  in  the  way  of  show  merely  that  Christ  put 
on  our  nature;  as  many  of  the  old  Gnostics  believed,  and  as 
the  view  that  multitudes  still  have  of  the  Christian  salvation, 
would  seem  to  imply.  He  put  it  on  truly  and  in  the  fullest 
sense.  He  was  Man  more  perfectly  than  this  could  be  said  of 
Adam  himself,  even  before  he  fell;  humanity  stood  revealed  in 
his  person  under  its  most  perfect  form.  Not  a  new  humanity 
wholly  dissevered  from  that  of  Adam;  but  the  humanity  of  Adam 
itself,  only  raised  to  a  higher  character,  and  filled  with  new 
meaning  and  power,  by  its  union  with  the  divine  nature.  The 
new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus  appeared  originally  only  in  this 
form,  and  can  hold  in  no  other  to  the  end  of  time. 

7.  Christ's  life,  as  noiv  described,  rests  not  in  his  separate  per- 
son,  but  passes  over  to  his  people ;  thus  constituting  the  Church, 
ivhich  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  Him  that  flleth  all  in  all.  This 
is  involved  in  the  view  already  taken  of  his  Person,  as  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  new  creation.  The  process  by  which  the  whole  is 
accomplished,  is  not  mechanical  but  organic.  It  takes  place 
in  the  way  of  history,  growth,  regular  living  development. 
Christ  goes  not  forth  to  heal  the  world  by  outward  power  as 
standing  beyond  himself;  he  gathers  it  rather  into  his  own  per- 
son, that  is,  stretches  over  it  the  law  of  his  own  life,  so  that  it  is 
made  at  last  to  hold  in  him  and  from  him  altogether,  as  its  root. 
As  individuals,  we  are  inserted  into  him  by  our  regeneration, 
which  is  thus  the  true  counterpart  of  that  first  birth  that  makes 
us  natural  men.     We  are  not  however  set  over  into  this  new 


168  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

order  of  existence  wholly  at  once.  This  would  be  magic.  We 
are  apprehended  by  it,  in  the  tirst  place,  only  as  it  were  at  a 
single  point.  But  this  point  is  ceniral.  The  new  life  lodges 
itself,  as  an  efflux  from  Christ,  in  the  inmost  core  of  our  per- 
sonality. Here  it  becomes  the  principle  or  seed  of  our  sanctifi- 
cation ;  which  is  simply  the  gradual  transfusion  of  the  same 
exalted  spiritual  quality  or  potence  through  our  whole  persons. 
The  process  terminates  with  the  resurrection.  All  analogies 
borrowed  from  a  lower  sphere  to  illustrate  this  great  mystery, 
are  necessarily  poor,  and  always  more  or  less  perilous.  •  Perhaps 
the  best  is  furnished  in  the  action  of  a  magnet  on  iron.  The 
man  in  his  natural  state  centres  upon  himself,  and  is  thus  spi- 
ritually dead.  In  his  regeneration,  he  is  touched  with  a  divine 
attraction,  that  draws  him  to  Christ,  the  true  centre  of  life.  The 
tendency  and  motion  here  come  not  of  himself,  grow  not  out  of 
what  he  was  before.  They  are  in  obedience  simply  to  the 
magnetic  stream  that  has  reached  him  from  without.  The  old 
nature  still  continues  to  work.  The  iron  is  not  at  once  made 
free  from  its  gravity.  But  a  new  law  is  producing  at  every 
point  an  inward  nisus  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  which  needs 
only  to  be  filled  with  new  force  continually  from  the  magnetic 
centre,  to  carry  all  at  last  its  own  way.  "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up," 
says  Christ,  "  will  draw  all  men  unto  me!" 

8.  As  joined  to  Christ,  then,  we  are  one  with  him  in  his  life, 
and  not  simply  in  the  way  of  a  less  intimate  and  real  union.  The 
new  birth  involves  a  substantial  change  in  the  centre  of  our 
being.  It  is  not  the  understanding  or  the  will  simply,  that  is 
wrought  upon  in  a  natural  or  supernatural  way.  Not  this  or 
that  power  or  function  of  the  man  is  it,  that  may  be  called  the 
seat  of  what  is  thus  introduced  into  his  person.  Life  is  not 
thinking,  nor  feeling,  nor  acting;  but  the  organic  unity  of  all 
these,  inseparably  joined  together.  In  this  sense,  we  say  of  our 
union  with  Christ,  that  it  is  a  new  life.  It  is  deeper  than  all 
thought,  feeling,  or  exercise  of  will.  Not  a  quality  only.  Not 
a  mere  relation.  A  relation  in  fact,  as  that  of  the  iron  to  the 
jnagnet;  but  one  that  carries  into  the  centre  of  the  subject  a 
form  of  being  which  was  not  there  before.  Christ  communicates 
liis  own  life  substantially  to  the  soul  on  which  he  acts,  causing 
it  to  grow  into  his  very  nature.  This  is  the  mystical  union ;  the 
basis  of  our  whole  salvation  ;  the  only  medium  by  which  it  is 
possible  for  us  to  have  an  interest  in  the  grace  of  Christ  under 
any  other  view. 

-  9.  Our  relation  to  Christ  is  not  simply  parallel  with  our  rela- 
tion to  Adam,  hut  goes  keyond  it,  as  heing  immeasurahh/  more 
intimate  and  deep.  Adam  was  the  first  man  ;  Christ  is  the 
archetypal  man,  in  whom  the  true  ideal  of  humanity  has  been 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  169 

brought  into  view.  Adam  stands  related  to  the  race  as  a  simple 
generic  head;  Christ  as  the  true  centre  and  universal  basis  of 
humanity  itself.  Our  nature  took  its  start  in  Adam ;  it  finds  its 
end  and  last  ground  only  in  Christ.  It  comes  not  with  us  to 
the  exercise  of  a  free,  full  personality,  till  we  are  consciously 
joined  to  the  person  of  the  divine  Lo^os  in  our  nature.  In  a 
deep  sense  thus,  Christ  is  the  universa.1  Man.  His  Person  is  the 
root,  in  the  presence  and  power  of  which  only  .all  other  person- 
alities can  stand,  in  the  case  of  his  people,  whether  in  time  or 
eternity.  They  not  only  spring  from  him,  as  we  all  do  from  Adam, 
but  continue  to  stand  in  him,  as  an  all  present,  everywhere  active 
personal  Life.*  In  this  way,  they  all  have  part  in  his  divinity 
itself;  though  the  hypostatical  union,  as  such,  remains  limited 
of  course  to  his  own  person.  The  whole  Christ  lives  and  works 
in  the  Church,  supernaturally,  gloriously,  mysteriously,  and  yet 
really  and  truly,  "  always,  to  the  end  of  the  world."  Glory  be 
to  God !  .  " 

10.  The  mystical  union  includes  necessarily  a  participation  in 
the  entire  humanity  of  Christ.  Will  any  one  pretend  to  say, 
that  we  are  joined  in  real  life-unity  with  the  everlasting  Logos, 
apart  from  Christ's  manhood,  in  the  way  of  direct  personal  mu- 
tual inbeing?  This  would  be  to  exalt  ourselves  to  the  same 
level  with  the  Son  of  God  himself.  The  mystical  union  then 
would  be  the  hypostatical  union  itself,  repeated  in  the  person  of 
every  believer.  Such  a  supposition  is  monstrous.  Those  who 
think  of  it  only  impose  upon  themselves.     For  the  conception 

*  Personality  is  constituted  bv  self-conscinusnesg.  This  includes,  in  our 
natural  state,  no  reference  whatever  to  an  original  progenitor.  Adam  forms 
in  no  sense  the  centre  of  our  life,  the  basis  of  our  spiritual  being.  But  the 
Christian  consciousness  carries  in  its  very  nature,  such  a  reference  to  the  per- 
son  of  JesHS  Christ.  It  consists  in  the  active  sense  of  this  relation,  as  the 
true  and  proper  life  of  its  subject.  The  man  does  not  connect  with  Christ 
the  self-consciousness  which  he  has  under  a  different  form,  in  the  way  of  out- 
ward reference  merely  ;  but  this  reference  is  comprehended  in  his  self-con- 
sciousness itself,  so  far  as  he  has  become  spiritually  renewed.  Christ  is  felt 
to  be  the  centre  of  his  life  ;  or  rather  this  feeling  may  be  said  to  be  itself  his 
life,  the  form  in  which  he  exists  as  a  self-conscious  person.  It  is  with  reason, 
therefore,  that  Schleierviacher  speaks  of  the  communication  which  Christ 
makes  of  himself  to  believers,  as  moulding  the  person  ;  since  he  imparts,  in 
fact,  a  new  higher  consciousness,  that  forms  the  basis  of  a  life  that  was  not 
previously  at  hand,  the  true  centre  of  our  personality  under  its  most  perfect 
form.  In  this  case  the  person  of  Christ  is  the  ground  and  fountain  of  all  pro. 
per  Christian  personality  in  the  Church.  It  is  only  as  he  is  consciously  in 
communication  with  Christ  as  his  life  centre,  (which  can  be  only  through  an 
actual  self-communication — Wesensmittheilung — of  Christ's  life  to  him  for 
this  purpose,)  that  the  believer  can  be  regarded  as  a  Christian,  or  new  man 
in  Christ  Jesus.  So  Olshausen  :  "  Die  Personlichkeit  des  Sohnes  selbst,  als 
die  umfassende,  nimmt  alle  Persijnlichkeiten  der  Seinigen  in  sich  anf,  und 
durchdringt  sie  wieder  mit  seinem  Leben,  gleichsam  als  der  lebendige  Mittel- 
punct  eines  Organismus,  von  dem  das  Leben  ausstrbmt  und  zu  dem  es  wieder. 
icehrt."     Comm.  John  xiv.,  20, 

15 


170  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

of  a  real  union,  they  substitute  m  their  thoughts  always  one  that 
is  moral  in  fact.  The  Word  became  flesh  in  Christ,  for  the  very 
purpose  of  reaching  us  in  a  real  way.  The  incarnation  consti- 
tutes the  only  medium  by  which,  the  only  form  under  which, 
this  divine  life  of  the  world  can  ever  find  its  way  over  into  our 
persons.  Let  us  beware  here  of  all  Gnostic  abstractions.  Let 
us  not  fall  practically  into  the  condemnation  of  Nestorius.  But 
allowing  the  humanity  of  Christ  to  be  the  indispensable  medium 
of  our  participation  in  his  person  as  divine,  will  any  dream  only 
of  his  human  soul  as  comprehended  in  the  case?  Then  the 
whole  fact  is  again  converted  into  a  phantom.  The  life  of  Christ 
was  one.  To  enter  us  at  all  in  a  real  way,  it  must  enter  us  in 
its  totality.  To  divide  the  humanity  of  Christ,  is  to  destroy  it; 
to  take  it  avyay,  and  lay  it  no  one  can  tell  where.  What  God  has 
joined  together,  we  have  no  right  thus  to  put  asunder.  Christ's 
humanity  is  not  his  soul  separately  taken ;  just  as  little  as  it  is 
his  body  separately  taken.  It  is  neither  soul  nor  body  as  such, 
but  the  everlasting,  indissoluble  union  of  both. 

IL  As  the  mystical  tmion  embraces  the  ichole  Christ,  so  ive  too 
are  embraced  hy  it  not  in  a  partial  but  whole  way.  The  very 
nature  of  life  is,  that  it  lies  at  the  ground  of  all  that  may  be 
predicated  besides  of  the  subject  in  which  it  is  found,  in  the  way 
of  quality,  attribute,  or  distinction.  It  is  the  whole  at  once  of 
the  nature  in  which  it  resides.  A  new  life  then,  to  become 
truly  ours,  must  extend  to  us  in  the  totality  of  our  nature.  It 
must  fill  the  understanding,  and  rule  the  will,  enthrone  itself  in 
the  soul  and  extend  itself  out  over  the  entire  body.  Besides, 
the  life  which  is  to  be  conveyed  into  us  in  the  present  case,  we 
have  just  seen  to  be  in  all  respects  a  true  human  life  before  it 
reaches  us  It  is  the  life  of  the  incarnate  Son  of  God.  But  as 
such,  how  can  it  be  supposed  in  passing  over  to  us,  to  lodge 
itself  exclusively  in  our  soub,  without  regard  to  our  bodies? 
Is  it  not  a  contradiction,  to  think  of  a  real  union  with  Christ's 
humanity,  which  extends  at  least  only  to  one  half  of  our  nature? 
In  the  person  of  Christ  himself,  we  hold  with  the  ancient  Church 
the  presence  of  a  true  body  as  well  as  of  a  reasonable  soul. 
Shall  this  same  Christ,  as  formed  in  his  jieople,  be  converted  into 
an  incorporeal,  docetic,  Gnostic  Christ,  as  having  no  real  pre- 
sence except  in  the  abstract  soul?  Or  may  his  bodily  nature 
continue  to  hold  in  this  case  in  the  soul  simply,  separately 
taken?  Incredible!  Either  Christ's  human  life  is  not  formed 
in  us  at  all,  or  it  must  be  formed  in  us  as  a  hnman  life  ;  must  be 
corporeal  as  well  as  incorporeal ;  must  put  on  outward  form,  and 
project  itself  in  space.  And  all  this  is  only  to  say,  in  other 
words,  that  it  must  enter  into  us,  and  become  united  to  us,  in 
our  bodies  as  truly  as  in  our  souls.     In  this  way,  the  mystical 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  171 

union  becomes  real.  Under  any  other  conception,  it  ends  in  a 
phantasm,  or  falls  back  helplessly  to  the  merely  moral  relation 
that  is  talked  of  by  Pelagians  and  Rationalists. 

12.  The  mystery  now  affirmed  is  accomplished,  not  in  the  wm/ 
of  two  different  forms  of  action,  hut  by  one  and  the  same  single 
and  undivided  process.  Much  of  the  difficulty  that  is  felt  with 
regard  to  this  whole  subject,  arises  from  the  inveterate  prejudice, 
by  which  so  commonly  the  idea  of  human  life  is  split  for  the 
imagination  into  two  lives,  and  a  veritable  dualism  thus  consti- 
tuted in  our  nature  in  place  of  the  absolute  .unity  that  belongs 
toUt  in  fact.  The  Bible  knows  nothing  of  that  abstract  separa- 
tion of  soul  and  body,  which  has  come  to  be  so  widely  admitted 
into  the  relio-ious  views  of  the  modern  world.  It  comes  from 
another  quarter  altogether;  and  it  is  as  false  to  all  true  philoso- 
phy, as  it  is  unsound  in  theology  and  pernicious  for  the  Chris- 
tian life.  Soul  and  body,  in  their  ground,  are  but  one  life  ; 
identical  in  their  origin  ;  bound  together  by  mutual  interpene- 
tration  subsequently  at  every  point;  and  holding  for  ever  in  the 
presence  and  power  of  the  self-same  organic  law.  We  have  no 
right  to  think  of  the  body  as  the  prison  of  the  soul,  in  the  way 
of  Plato;  nor  as  its  garment  merely;  nor  as  its  shell  or  hull. 
We  have  no  right  to  think  of  the  soul  in  any  way  as  a  form  of 
existence  of  and  by  itself,  into  which  the  soul  as  another  form 
of  such  existence  is  thrust  in  a  mechanical  way.  Both  form 
one  life.  The  soul  to  be  complete  to  develope  itself  at  all  as  a 
soul,  7nust  externalize  itself,  throw  itself  out  in  spa*ce;  and  this 
externalization  is  the  body.*     All  is  one  process,  the  action  of 

*  To  some,  possibly,  this  representation  may  seem  to  be  contradicted  by 
what  the  Scriptures  teach  of  the  separate  existence  of  the  soul  between  death 
and  the  resurrection  ;  and  it  must  be  admitted,  that  we  are  met  here  with  a 
difficulty  which  it  is  not  easy,  at  present,  to  solve.  Let  us,  however,  not 
mistake  the  true  state  of  the  case.  The  difficulty  is  not  to  reconcile  Scrip- 
ture with  a  psychological  theory;  but  to  bring  it  into  harmony  with  itself. 
For  it  is  certain,  that  the  Scriptures  teach  such  an  identification  of  soul  and 
body  in  the  proper  human  personality,  as  clearly  at  least  as  they  intimate  a 
continued  consciousness  on  the  part  of  the  soul  between  death  and  the  resur- 
rection. The  doctrine  of  immortality  in  the  Bible,  is  such  as  to  include 
always  the  idea  of  the  resurrection.  It  is  an  di'a^T'acftj  ix  -tCov  vex^iZr. 
The  whole  argument  in  the  loth  chapter  of  1st  Corinthians,  as  well  as  the 
representation  I  Thess.  iv.,  13-lS,  proceeds  on  the  assumption  that  the  life  of 
the  body,  as  well  as  that  of  the  soul,  is  indispensable  to  the  perfect  state  of 
our  nature  as  human.  The  soul  then,  during  the  intermediate  state,  cannot 
possibly  constitute,  in  the  biblical  view,  a  complete  mnn  ;  and  the  case  re- 
quires bfesides,  that  we  should  conceive  of  its  relation  to  the  body  as  still  in 
force,  not  absolutely  destroyed  hut  only  suspended.  The  whole  condition  is 
interimistic,  and  by  no  possibility  of  conception  capable  of  being  thought  of 
as  complete  and  final.  When  the  resurrection  body  appears,  it  will  not  be  as 
a  new  frame  abruptly  created  for  the  occasion,  and  brought  to  the  soul  inithe 
way  of  outward  addition  and  supplement.  It  will  be  found  to  hold  in  strict 
organic  continuity  with  the  bodv,  as  it  existed  before  death,  as  the  action  of 
the  same  law  of  life  ;  which  implies  that  this  law  has  not  been  annihilated. 


172 


THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


one  and  the  same  living  organic  principle,  dividing  itself  only 
that  its  unity  may  become  thus  the  more  free  and  intensely  com- 
plete. There  is  no  room  to  dream  then  of  a  bodily  communi- 
cation with  Christ  on  the  part  of  believers,  as  something  distinct 
from  the  communication  they  have  with  him  in  their  souls.  His 
flesh  cannot  enter  our  flesh,  under  an  abstract  form,  dissevered 
from  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  in  no  union  with  our  souls  as  the 
medium  of  such  translation.  This  would  be  the  so  called  Caper- 
naitic  communion  in  full  ;  not  mystical,  but  magical ;  incredible 
and  useless  at  the  same  time.  The  process  by  which  Christ  is 
formed  in  his  people,  is  not  thus  two-fold  but  single.  It  lays 
hold  of  its  subject  in  each  case,  not  in  the  periphery  of  his  per- 
son, but  in  its  inmost  centre,  where  the  vvhole  man,  soul  and 
body,  is  still  one  undivided  life.  As  in  the  case  of  the  mind  it 
is  neither  the  understanding,  nor  the  will,  that  is  apprehended 
by  it,  so  in  the  case  of  the  person  also  it  is  neither  the  soul  nor 
the  body,  separately  considered,  that  is  so  apprehended  ;  it  is  the 
totality  which  includes  all ;  it  is  the  man  in  the  very  centre  and 
ground  of  his  personality.  Christ's  life  as  a  ivholt^  is  borne  over 
into  the  person  of  the  believer  as  a  like  ivliole.  The  communi- 
cation is  central,  and  central  only;  from  the  last  ground  of 
Christ's  life  to  the  last  ground  of  ours;  by  the  action  of  a  single, 
invisible,  self-identical,  spiritual  law.  The  power  of  Christ's 
life  lodged  in  the  soul  begins  to  work  there  immediately  as  the 
principle  of  a  new  creation.  In  doing  so,  it  works  organically 
according  to  the  law  which  it  includes  in  its  own  constitution. 
That  is,  it  works  as  a  human  life ;  and  as  such  becomes  a  law 
of  regeneration  in  the  body  as  truly  as  in  the  soul. 

13.  In  all  this  of  course  then  there  is  no  room  for  the  svpposi- 
Hon  of  any  material,  tactual  approach  of  ChrLt's  body  to  the 
uersons  of  his  people.  It  is  not  necessary,  that  his  flesh  and  blood, ' 
materially  considered,  should  in  any  way  pass  over  into  our  life, 
md  become  locally  present  in  us  under  any  form,  to  make  us 
oartakers  of  his  humanity.  Even  in  the  sphere  of  mere  nature, 
he  continuity  of  organic  existence,  as  it  passes  from  one  indivi- 
lual  to  another — mounting  upwards  for  instance  from  the  buried 
jeed,  and  revealing  itself  at  last,  through  leaves  and  flowers,  in 
\  thousand  new  seeds  after  its  own  kind — is  found  to  hang  in 

)ul  suspended  only  in  the  intermediate  state.  In  this  character,  however,  it 
nust  be  regarded  as  resting  in  some  way,  (for  where  else  could  it  rest,)  in  the 
:eparate  life,  as  it  is  called,  of  the  soul  itself;  the  slumbering  power  of  the 
esurrcction,  ready  at  the  proper  time,  in  obedience  to  Christ's  powerful 
yord,  to  clothe  itself  with  its  former  actual  nature,  in  full  identity  with  the 
brm  It  carried  bef(»re  death,  though  under  a  far  higher  order  of  existence. 
)n\y  then  can  the  salvation  of  the  soul  be  considered  complete.  All  at  last  is 
me  life;  the  subject  of  which  is  the  totality  of  the  believer's  person,  compre- 
lending  soul  and  body  alike,  from  the  beginning  of  the  process  to  its  end. 


/ 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  173 

the  end,  not  on  the  material  medium  as  sucli  tlirough  which  thoJ 
process  is  effected,  but  on  the  presence  simply  of  the  living  force, 
immaterial  altogether  and  impalpable,  that  imparts  both  form  and 
substance  to  the  whole.  The  presence  of  the  root  in  the 
branches  of  the  oak,  is  not  properly  speaking  either  a  local  or 
material  presence.  It  is  the  power  simply  of  a  common  lif^ 
And  why  then  should  it  be  held  impossible,  for  Christ's  life  to 
reach  over  into  the  persons  of  his  people,  whole  and  entire,  even 
without  the  intervention  of  any  material  medium  whatever — be- 
longing as  it  does  pre-eminently  to  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit? 
Why  should  it  seem  extravagant,  to  belieye  that  the  laiv  of  this 
life,  apart  from  all  material  contact  with  his  person,  may  be  so 
lodged  in  the  soul  of  the  believer  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  as  to  become  there  the  principle  of  a  new  moral  creation, 
that  shall  still  hold  in  unbroken  organic  continuity  with  its  root, 
and  go  on  to  take  full  possession  of  its  subject,  soul  and  body, 
under  the  same  form? 

14.  Such  a  relation  of  Christ  to  the  Church  involves  no  ubi- 
quity or  idealistic  dissipation  of  his  body,  and  requires  no  fusion 
of  his  proper  personcdity  ivith  the  persons  of  his  people.  We  dis- 
tinguish between  the  simple  man  and  the  universal  man,  here 
joined  in  the  same  person.  The  possibility  of  such  a  distinction 
is  clear  in  the  case  of  Adam.  His  universality  is  not  indeed  of 
the  same  order  with  that  of  Christ.  But  still  the  case  has  full 
force,  for  the  point  now  in  hand.  Adam  was  at  once  an  indi- 
vidual and  a  whole  race.  All  his  posterity  partake  of  his  life, 
and  grow  forth  from  him  as  their  root.  And  still  his  individual 
person  has  not  been  lost  on  this  account.  Why  then  should  the- 
life  of  Christ  in  the  Church,  be  supposed  to  conflict  with  the 
idea  of  his  separate,  distinct  personality,  under  a  true  human 
form?  Why  must  we  dream  of  a  fusion  of  persons  in  the  one 
case,  more  than  in  the  other?  Here  is  more,  it  is  true,  than 
our  relation  to  Adam.  We  not  only  spring  from  Christ,  so  far 
as  our  new  life  is  concerned,  but  stand  in  him  perpetually  also 
as  our  ever  living  and  ever  present  root.  ♦  His  Person  is  always 
thus  the  actual  bearer  of  our  persons.  And  yet  there  is  no  mix- 
ture, or  flowing  of  one  into  the  other,  as  individually  viewed. 
Is  not  God  the  last  ground  of  all  personality?  But  does  this 
imply  any  pantheistic  dissipation  of  his  nature,  into  the  general 
consciousness  of  the  intelligent  universe?  Just  as  little  does  it 
imply  any  like  dissipation  of  Christ's  personality  into  the  general 
consciousness  of  the  Church,  when  we  affirm  that  it  forms  the 
ground,  out  of  which  and  iir  the  power  of  which  only,  the  whole 
life  of  the  Church  continually  subsists,*      ]n  this  view  Christ  is 

*  It  is  not  unusual  to  hear  it  objected  to  the  view  of  such  a  comprehension 
of  the  general  Christian  life  in  the  life  of  Christ,  as  is  here  maintained,  that  it 

15* 


174  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

personally  present  always  in  the  Church.  This  of  course,  in 
the  power  of  his  divine  nature.  But  his  divine  nature  is  at  the 
same  time  humcm,  in  the  fullest  sense;  and  wherever  his  pre- 
.sence  is  revealed  in  the  Church  in  a  real  way,  it  includes  his 
person  necessarily  under  the  one  aspect  as  well  as  under  the 
other.  With  all  this  however,  which  is  something  very  different 
from  the  conception  of  a  proper  ubiquity  in  the  case  of  Christ's 
body,  we  do  not  relinquish  the  thought  of  his  separate  human 
individuality.-  We  distinguish,  between  his  universal  humanity 
in  the  Church,  and  his  humanity  as  a  particular  man,  whom  the 
heavens  have  received  till  the  time  of  the  restitution  of  all  things.* 
His  glorified  body,  we  doubt  not,  is  possessed  of  qualities,  attri- 
butes and  powers,  that  transcend  immeasurably  all  we  know  or 
can  think  of  a  human  body  here.  Still  it  is  a  body;  a  particular 
body  ;  having  organized  parts  and  outward  form.  As  such  of 
course,  it  must  be  defined  and  circumscribed  by  local  limits,  and 
cannot  be  supposed  to  be  present  in  different  places  at  the  same 
time. 

15.  The  mystical  union,  holding  in  this  form,  is  more  intimate 
and  real,  than  any  union  which  is  knoicn  in  the  world  besides. 
Even  in  nature,  the  most  close  connection  is  not  that  which 
holds  in  the  way  of  mere  local  contact,  or  outward  conjunction. 
'J'here  may  be  an  actual  transfusion  of  one  substance  into 
another,  with  very  little  union  in  the  end.  A  simply  mcchaidcal 
unity,  one  thing  joined  to  another  in  space,  is  the  lowest  and 
poorest  that  can  be  presented  to  our  thoughts.  Higher  than  this 
is  the  chemical  combination  ;  which  however  is  still  compara- 
tively outward.  The  organic  union,  as  it  holds  for  instance  be- 
tween the  root  and  topmost  branches  of  the  tree,  is  far  more 
inward  and  close.  Though  they  do  not  touch  each  other  at  all, 
they  arc  one  notwithstanding  in  a  sense  more  true,  than  can  be 
affirmed,  either  of  the  different  parts  of  a  crystal,  or  of  the  ele- 

Icads  to  a  sort  of  pantheism,  in  which  no  room  is  left  for  tlie  idea  of  a  sepa- 
rate individual  consciousness  on  tlie  part  of  the  believer.^  But  this  objection, 
if  it  have  any  force,  must  hokl  not  only  against  such  a  life  union  with  Christ 
as  ia  here  advocated,  but  against  any  union  with  him  whatever  that  may  be 
considered  real,  and  not  simply  moral.  Then  all  the  best  old  English  divines, 
as  Professor  Lewis  has  well  remarked,  such  as  Howe,  Baxter,  Owen,  &c., 
must  fall  under  condemnation  as  teaching  tlie  Bhuddist  doctrine  of  spiritual 
annihilation.  "  Such  a  philoso[)her,"  he  adds,  "as  the  author  of  the  '  Bles- 
sedness of  Ihe  Righteous,^  \\ou\i\  teach  us  t!iat  the  soul's  consciousness  of 
being  in  Christ,  and  of  having  one  life  with  him,  might  give  a  higher  sense  of 
a  more  glorious  and  blessed  individuality,  than  could  be  derived  from  any 
other  state  of  being.  .  .  .  Paul  was  not  afraid  of  saying,  that  ^  in  God  we 
live,  and  move,  and  are,'  or  of  speaking  of  the  Cliurch  as  being  '  the  fulness 
of  him  that  tilleth  all  in  all,'  or  of  declaring  that  '  our  life  is  hid  with  Christ 
in  God.'  Neither  whilst  there  remained  in  him  the  individual  consciousness 
of  so  blessed  a  state,  was  he  afraid  of  the  declaration,  ^w  8s,  ovx  fti  JETw, 
Cri  bi  fv  fjitot  XPIST02, — /  live,  not  I,  but  Christ  livdh  in  m«." 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  175 

ments  that  are  married  in  the  constitution  of  atmospheric  air. 
Of  vastly  higher  character  still,  is  the  union  of  head  and  mem- 
bers in  the  same  human  body.  But  even  this  is  a  poor  image 
of  the  oneness  of  Christ  with  his  people.  There  is  nothing  like 
this  in  the  whole  world,  under  any  other  form.  It  is  bound  by 
no  local  limitations.  It  goes  beyond  all  nature,  and  transcends 
all  thought. 

16.  The  union  of  Christ  with  believers  is  tcr ought  hy  the  poicer 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  new  birth  is  from  the  Spirit.  It  is 
by  the  Spirit  the  divine  life  is  sustained  and  advanced  in  us,  at 
every  point,  from  its  commencement  to  its  close.  There  is  no 
other  medium,  by  which  it  is  possible  for  us  to  be  in  Christ,  or 
to  have  Christ  in  ourselves.  The  new  creation  holds  absolutely 
and  entirely,  in  the  powerful  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Hence  it  is  said,  "  He  that  is  joined  to  the  Lord,  is  one  Spirit ;" 
and  the  indwelling  of  Christ  and  his  Spirit  in  believers  is  spoken 
of  as  the  same  thing.  But  for  this  very  reason,  we  have  no  right 
to  dissolve  this  unity  again  in  our  thoughts,  by  making  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Spirit  a  mere  substitute  for  the  presence  of  Christ 
himself.  Where  the  one  is,  there  the  other  is  truly  and  really 
at  the  same  time.  The  Spirit,  proceeding  from  the  Father  and 
Son  and  subsisting  in  everlasting  union  with  both,  constitutes 
the  form,  in  which  and  by  which  the  new  creation  in  Christ 
Jesus  upholds  itself,  and  reveals  itself,  in  all  its  extent.  It  is 
not  Nature,  but  Spirit.  So  in  the  Person  of  Christ  himself,  the 
root  of  this  creation.  The  Spirit  was  never  brought  near  to 
men  before,  as  now  through  the  incarnate  Word.  It  dwelt  in 
him  without  measure.  Humanity  itself  was  fiiled  completely 
with  its  presence,  and  appears  at  last  translucent  with  the  glory 
of  heaven  itself  by  its  means.  Forth  from  the  person  of  Christ, 
thus  "  quickened  in  the  Spirit,"  the  flood  of  life  pours  itself  on- 
ward continually  in  the  Church,  only  of  course  by  the  presence 
and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  for  it  holds  in  no  other  form. 
Not  however  by  the  presence  and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as 
abstracted  from  the  presence  of  Christ  himself;  as  though  he 
were  the  fountain  only,  and  not  the  very  life-stream  too,  of  the 
new  creation,  or  could  he  supposed  to  be  in  it  and  with  it  by  the 
intervention  only  of  a  presence,  not  involving  at  the  same  time 
and  to  the  same  extent  his  own.  "  The  Lord  is  that  Spirit." 
He  reveals  himself  in  his  people,  dwells  in  them  and  makes  them 
one  with  himself  in  a  real  way,  by  his  Spirit.  In  this  view,  the 
new  life  formed  in  them  is  spiritual;  hot  natural  or  physical,  as 
belonging  simply  to  the  first  creation.  But  this  Joes  not  imply 
at  all,  that  it  is  limited  to  the  soul  as  distinguished  from  the 
body.  There  is  no  absolute  opposition  here  between  the  idea  of 
body  and  the  idea  of  Spirit.     Here  is  a  spiritual   bodi/,  as  well 


176  THife    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

as  a  body  natural,  according  to  the  apostle.  The  Spirit  of 
Christ,  in  his  own  person  at  least,  fills  the  whole  man,  soul  and 
body.  All  is  spiritual,  glorious,  heavenly.  His  whole  humanity 
has  been  taken  up  into  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit,  and  appears 
transfigured  into  the  same  life.  And  why  then  should  it  not  ex- 
tend itself,  in  the  way  of  strict  organic  continuity,  as  a  whole 
humanity  also,  by  the  active  presence  of  Christ's  Spirit,  over 
into  the  persons  of  his  people?  A  spiritual  life  no  more  ex- 
cludes the  thought  of  the  body  in  the  one  case,  than  it  does  in 
the  other. 

17.  Christ's  life  is  apprehended  on  the  part  of  his  people  only 
hy  FAITH.  The  life  itself  comes  to  us  wholly  from  Christ  him- 
self, by  the  power  of  his  Spirit.  The  magnetic  stream  is  poured 
upon  us  from  abroad.  If  we  move  at  all,  it  is  only  in  obedience 
to  the  divine  current  thus  brought  to  bear  upon  our  souls.  To 
live  in  this  at  all,  however,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  sur- 
render ourselves  spontaneously  to  its  power.  This  is  faith;  the 
most  comprehensive,  fundamental  act  of  which  our  nature  is  ca- 
pable. The  man  swings  himself,  in  the  totality  of  his  being, 
quite  off  from  the  centre  of  self,  on  which  hitherto  his  conscious- 
ness has  been  poised,  over  upon  Christ,  now  revealed  to  his  view, 
as  another  centre  altogether.  The  birth  of  a  new  life^  in  the 
strictest  sense,  as  we  have  already  seen.  Faith,  of  course,  is  not 
the  principle  of  this  life.  It  is  only  the  medium  of  its  introduc- 
tion into  the  soul,  and  the  condition  of  its  growth  and  develop- 
ment when  present.  But  as  such  it  is  indispensable.  The 
process  of  our  sanctification  is  spiritual,  and  not  mechanical  or 
magical.* 

18.  The  new  life  of  the  believer  includes  degrees,  and  will  he- 
come  complete  only  in  the  resurrection.  Only  in  this  form  could 
It  have  a  true  human  character.  All  life,  in  the  case  of  man, 
is  actualized,  and  can  be  actualized,  only  in  the  way  of  process 
or  gradual  historical  development.  So  in  the  case  before  us, 
there  is  the  seed;  and  when  it  springs,  "  first  the  blade,  then  the 
ear;  and  after  that,  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  The  new  life 
struggles  with  the  old,  like  Jacob  and  Esau  in  the  same  womb! 
The  Christian  carries  in  himself-two  forms  of  existence,  a  *'  law 
of  sin  and  death"  on  the  one  hand,  and  "the  law  of  the  spirit  of 
life  in  Christ  Jesus"  on  the  other;  and  the  power  of  the  last  is 
continually  opposed  and  restrained  by  the  power  of  the  first. 
From  its  very  start,  however,  the  life  of  Christ  in  the  believer  is 
a  whole  life;  and  in  all  its  subsequent  progress  it  reveals  its 
power  continually,  under  the  same  character.  From  the  first  it 
includes  in  '\ise\l' potentially  all  that  it  is  found  to  become  at  the 

*  ''  Living  faith  in  Christ,"  says  Schleiermacher,  "  is  nothing  but  the  self- 
consciousness  of  our  union  with  Christ." 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  177 

last.  The  life  of  the  tree  is  only  the  same  life,  that  was  compre- 
hended originally  in  the  seed  from  which  it  has  sprung.  So  it 
is  with  all  life.  All  that  belongs,  then,  to  the  new  life  of  the 
Christian,  conceived  as  complete  at  the  last  day,  must  be  allowed 
to  be  involved  in  it  as  principle  and  process  from  the  beginning-. 
In  every  stage  of  its  progress  it  is  a  true  human  life,  answerable 
to  the  nature  of  its  organic  root,  and  to  the  nature  also  of 
the  subject  in  which  it  is  lodged.  It  is  always,  as  far  as 
it  prevails,  the  law  of  a  new  nature  for  the  body  as  well 
as  for  the  soul.  The  full  and  final  triumph  of  the  process^ 
is  the  resurrection ;  which  is  reached  in  the  case  of  the  in- 
dividual, only  in  connection  with  the  consummation  of  ^tho 
Church  as  a  whole.  The  bodies  of  the  saints  in  glory  will  be- 
only  the  last  result,  in  organic  continuity,  of  the  divine  life  of 
Christ,  implanted  in  their  souls  at  their  regeneration.  There  is 
nothing  abrupt  in  Christianity.  It  is  a  supernatural  constilii- 
tion  indeed;  but  as  such  it  is  clothed  in  a  natural  form,  and  iji- 
volves  in  itself  as  regular  a  law  of  historical  development,  as  the 
old  creation  itself  The  resurrection  body  will  be  simply  the 
ultimate  outburst  of  the  life,  that  had  been  ripening  for  immor- 
tality under  cover  of  the  old  Adamic  nature  before.  The  winged 
psyche  has  its  elemeYital  organization  in  the  worm,  and  does  not 
lose  it  in  the  tomb-like  chrysalis.  Let  us  not  be  told,  that  this 
is  to  suppose  two  bodies  in  the  person  of  the  believer  at  one 
time.  Does  the  new  life,  abstracted  from  the  body,  involve  the 
supposition  of  two  souls  ?  The  cases  are  precisely  parallel.  The 
man  is  one,  soul  and  body.  But  a  new  organic  law  has  become 
lodged  in  the  inmost  centre  of  his  personality,  and  is  now  gra- 
dually extending  its  force  over  the  entire  constitution  of  his  na- 
ture as  a  whole.  It  does  not  lay  hold  of  one  part  of  his  being 
first,  and  then  proceed  to  another,  in  the  way  of  outward  territo- 
rial conquest ;  as  though  a  hand  or  foot  could  be  renovated  be- 
fore the  head,  or  the  understanding  apart  from  the  will,  or  the 
soul  in  no  connection  with  the  body.  The  whole  man  is  made 
the  subject  of  the  new  life  at  once.  The  law  of  revolution  in- 
volved in  it  extends  from  the  centre  to  the  extreme  periphery  of 
his  person.  The  old  body  becomes  itself,  in  a  mysterious  way, 
the  womb  of  a  higher  corporeity,  the  life-law  of  Christ's  own 
glorious  body  ;  which  is  at  last,  through  the  process  of  death  and 
the  resurrection,  set  free  from  the  first  form  of  existence  entirely, 
and  made  to  supersede  it  for  ever  in  the  immortality  of  heaven. 


178  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


SECTION  III. 


THE    lord's    supper 


19.  "A  sacrament  is  a  holy  ordinance  instituted  hy  Christ; 
wherein,  by  sensible  signs,  Christ  and  the  benefits  of'  the  nein 
coitenant  arc  represented,  skaled  and  applied  to  believers."  Thus 
the  Westminster  Shorter  Catechism,  echoing  the  voice  of  the 
whole  Reformed  Church,  as  it  had  sounded  throughout  Christen- 
dom for  a  century  before.  The  sigiis,  as  such,  make  not  the 
sacrament.  They  are  only  one  part  of  it.  The  other  part 
is  found  in  the  invisible  grace,  that  is  sacramentally  or  mys- 
tically joined  with  the  signs.  To  be  complete,  that  is  to  be  at 
all  a  true  sacrament,  the  ordinance  must  comprehend  both.  In 
other  words  the  invisible  grace  enters  as  a  necessary  constituent 
element  into  the  idea  of  the  sacrament;  and  must  be  of  course 
objectively  present  with  it  wherever  it  is  administered  under  a 
true  form.  Whether  it  shall  become  available  to  the  benefit  of 
the  participant,  must  depend  on  the  presence  of  the  conditions 
that  are  needed  to  give  it  effect.  All  turns  here  at  last  on  the 
exercise  of  faith.  But  the  objective  presence  of  the  grace  itself, 
as  an  essential' part  of  the  sacrament,  is  none  the  less  certain 
and  sure  on  this  account.  It  belongs  to  the  ordinance  in  its 
own  nature;  which,  in  this  view,  is  not  a  picture  or  remem- 
brancer simply  for  the  mind,  but  a  true  and  real  exhibition  of 
that  which  it  represents.  The  sign  and  the  thing  signified  are, 
|by  Christ's  institution,  mysteriously  bound  together,  so  as  to  form 
iin  the  sacramental  transaction  one  and  the  same  presence.  Not 
as  though  the  last  were  in  any  way  included  in  the  first,  as  its 
local  or  material  receptacle.  The  conjunction  is  in  no  sense 
such  as  to  change  at  all  the  nature  of  the  sensible  sign,  in  itself 
considered,  or  to  bring  it  into  any  physical  union  with  the  grace 
it  represents.  But  still  the  two  form  one  presence.  Along  with 
the  outward  sign,  is  exhibited  always  at  the  same  time  the  repre- 
sented grace.  The  union  of  the  one  with  the  other  is  mystical, 
and  peculiar  altogether  to  the  nature  of  a  sacrament;  but  it  is 
not  for  this  reason  less  real,  but  only  a  great  deal  7?iore  real,  than 
it  could  be  possibly  under  any  natural  and  local  form.  The  in- 
visible grace  thus  made  present  by  sensible  signs  in  the  sacra- 
ments, is  "  Christ  and  the  benefits  of  the  new  covenant."  Not  the 
benefits  of  the  new  covenant  only  ;  but  Christ  himself  also,  in  a 
real  way,  as  the  only  medium  of  a  real  communication  with  the 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  179 

benefits.  Christ  first,  and  then  and  tliercfura  all  his  benefits ;  as 
inhering  only  in  his  person,  and  carrying  with  them  no  reality 
under  any  different  view. 

20.  "  Tlie  Lord's  Supper  is  a  sacrament,  wherein,  hy  giving 
and  receiving  bread  and  loine  according  to  Christ's  appointment, 
his  death  is  showed  forth,  and  the  icorthy  receivers  are,  not  after 
a  corporal  and  carnal  manner,  hut  hy  faith,  made  pctrtakers  of 
nis  BODY  AND  BLOOD,  With  all  his  henefts,  to  their  spiritual  nou- 
rishmcnt  and  growth  in  grace."  Thus  again  the  Westminster 
Shorter  Catechism.  Here  are  sensible  signs,  bread  and  wine 
solemnly  given  and  received.  Here  also  we  have  the  invisible 
grace,  Christ  and  his  benefits.  To  make  the  case  clearer,  it  is 
Christ's  "body  and  blood,  with  all  his  benefits;"  the  first  of 
course  as  the  basis  and  medium  of  the  last.  The  visible  and 
invisible  are  different,  and  yet,  in  this  case,  they  may  not  be  dis- 
joined. They  flow  together  in  the  constitution  of  one  and  the 
same  sacrament.  Neither  of  the  two  is  the  sacrament,  abstracted 
from  the  other.  The  ordinance  holds  in  the  sacramental  trans- 
action; which  includes  the  presence  of  both,  the  one  materially, 
for  the  senses,  the  other  spiritually,  for  faith.  Christ's  body  is 
not  in  or  under  the  bread,  jocally  considered.  Still,  the  power 
of  his  life  in  this  form  'is  actually  exhibited  at  the  same  time  in 
the  mystery  of  the  sacrament.  The  one  is  as  truly  and  really 
present  in  the  institution,  as  the  other.  yThe  elements  gre 
not  simply  significant  of  that  which  they  represent,  as  serving 
to  bring  it  to  mind  by  the  help  of  previous  knowledge.  They 
are  the  pledge  of  its  actual  presence  and  power.  They  are 
bound  to  it  in  mystical,  sacramental  union,  more  intimately,  we 
may  say,  than  they  would  be  if  they  were  made  to  include  it  in 
the  way  of  actual  local  comprehension.  There  is  far  more  then 
than  the  mere  commemoration  of  Christ's  death.  Worthy  re- 
ceivers partake  also  of  his  body  and  blood,  with  all  his  benefits, 
through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  their  spiritual  nourish- 
ment and  growth  in  grace. 

21.  The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  has  reference  directly 
and  primarily  to  the  atonement  wrought  out  hy  Christ's  death 
on  the  cross.  So  in  the  words  of  institution,  it  is  his  body  broken, 
and  his  blood  shed  for  the  remission  of  sins,  that  are  held  up  to 
view.  It  is  not  simply  of  Christ  but  of  the  "  body  and  blood" 
of  Christ,  that  is  of  Christ  as  sacrificed  and  slain  for  the  sins  of 
the  world,  that  worthy  receivers  are  made  to  partake  in  the 
holy  ordinance.  Not  as  though  the  sacrament  were  itself  a 
sacrifice,  or  included  in  its  own  nature  any  expiatory  force,  in 
the  way  dreamed  of  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  It  serves  simply  • 
to  ratify  and  advance  the  interest,  which  believers  have  already, 
by  their  union   with  Christ,  in  the   new  covenant   established 


180  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

through  his  blood.  Only  under  this  form,  can  the  salvation  of 
the  gospel  stand  us  in  stead.  We  are  sinners  and  as  such  need 
redemption.  Only  through  the  medium  of  Christ's  sufferings 
and  death,  can  we  come  to  have  any  part  in  his  glory.  He  must 
be  our  righteousness,  in  order  that  he  may  be  our  life.  Hence 
I  our  first  relation  to  him  as  believers,  is  that  which  is  formed  in 
I  our  justification  ;  that  "  act  of  God's  free  grace,  wherein  he  par- 
\doneth  all  our  sins,  and  accepteth  us  as  righteous  in  his  sight, 
\only  for  the  righteousness  of  Christ  imputed  to  us,  and  received 
by  faith  alone."  And  so  our  whole  subsequent  Christian  life,  as 
it  grows  forth  from  this  objective  righteousness,  may  be  said  to 
involve  a  constant  return  to  it,  and  dependence  upon  it,  on  to 
the  end  of  our  course.  We  need  no  new  atonement ;  but  we  do 
need  to  fall  back  perpetually  on  the  one  sacrifice  for  sin,-  which 
Christ  has  already  made  upon  the  cross,  appropriating  the  power 
of  it  more  and  more  to  our  souls,  as  the  only  ground  of  our  sal- 
vation.\  The  Lord's  Supper  accordingly,  concentrating  in  itself 
as  it  does,  in  some  sense,  the  force  and  meaning  of  the  whole 
Christian  life,  has  regard  to  this  sacrifice  always  as  the  great  ob- 
ject of  its  representation.  It  is  the  sacrament  of  Christ's  death, 
the  communion  of  his  body  and  blood. 

22.  As  the  medium  liowcver  by  which'we  are  tints  made  par- 
takers  of  the  new  covenant  in  Christ's  death,  the  Holy  Supper 
involves  a  real  conimuni cation  icith  the  person  of  the  Saviour, 
now  glorio2islij  exalted  in  heaven.  Our  justification,  as  we  have 
seen,  rests  on  the  objective  merit  of  Christ,  by  whose  blood  alone 
propitiation  has  been  made  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  But  this 
justification,  to  become  ours  in  fact,  must  insert  us  into  Christ's 
life.  It  reaches  us  from  abroad,  the  "  act  of  God's  free  grace  ;" 
but  as  God's  act,  it  is  necessarily  more  than  a  mere  declaration 
or  form  of  thought.  It  makes  us  to  be  in  fact,  what  it  accounts 
us  to  be,  in  Christ.  The  ground  of  our  justification  is  a  right- 
eousness that  was  foreign  to  us  before,  but  is  noio  made  to  lodge 
itself  in  the  inmost  constitution  of  our  being.  A  real  life-union 
with  Christ,  powerfully  wrought  in  our  souls  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
is  the  only  basis,  on  which  there  can  be  any  true  imputation  to 
us  of  what  he  has  done  and  suffered  on  our  behalf  And  so,  in 
the  whole  subsequent  progress  of  our  Christian  life,  our  interest 
in  his  merits  can  be  renewed  and  confirmed  only  in  the  same 
way.  We  must  have  Christ  himself  formed  in  us  more  and 
more  in  a  real  way,  in  order  that  "  he  may  be  made  unto  us  of 
God,  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification,and  redemp- 
tion." The  eucharistic  communion  then,  as  serving  to  confirm 
»  our  interest  in  the  one  sacrifice  accomplished  on  the  cross,  must 
include  a  true  participation  in  the  life  of  him  by  whom  the 
sacrifice  was  made.     We  can  make  no  intelligible  distinction 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  181 

here,  between  the  crucified  body  of  Christ  and  his  body  as  now 
glorified  in  heaven.    Both  at  last  are  one  and  the  same  life.    To 
partake  of  the   *'  broken   body"  and  "  shed   blood"  of  the  Re- 
deemer, if  it  mean  a  real  participation  in  his  person  at  all,  must 
be  to  communicate  with  him  as  now  exalted  at  the  right  hand  of 
God.     For  it  is  not  a  dead  contract  or  a  dead  sacrifice  we  have 
to  do  with  in  this  case ;  the  "  new  covenant  in  Christ's  blood"  can 
hold  only  in  the  power  of  that  indissoluble  life,  by  which  Jesus, 
once  put  to  death  in  the  flesh,  is  now  quickened  forever  in  the 
Spirit.     The  virtue  of  this  covenant  is  not  only  represented,  but 
sealed  also  and  appVied,  to   believers;  which   means,  not   merely 
that  they  have  in  the  sacrament  a  general  pledge  that  God  will  be 
faithful  to  his  own  promises,  but  that  the  grace  which  it  exhibits 
is  actually  made  over  to  them,  at  the  time,  in  this  very  transac- 
tion itself     The   grace  however,  namely  the  merit  of  Christ's 
sufferings  and   death,  has  a  real  character  only  as  rooted  in  a 
living  way  in  Christ's  person ;  and  it  can  become  ours  by  new 
application,  accordingly,  no  farther  than  Christ  himself  is  made 
over  to  us  at  the  same  time.     "  To  eat  the  crucified    body  ainl  \ 
drink  the  shed  blood  of  Christ"  then,  in  the   language   of  the  ' 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  "  is  not  only  to  embrace  with  a  believino-  j 
heart  all  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ,  and  thereby  to  ob-  I 
tain  the  pardon  of  sin  and  life  eternal ;  hut  also,  besides  that,  } 
to  become  more  and  more  united  to  his  sacred  body  by  the  Holy  i 
Ghost,  who  dwells  both  in  Christ  and  in  us;  so  that  we,  though  I 
Christ  is  in  heaven  and  we  on  earth,  are  notwithstanding  flesh  of 
his   flesh  and    bone   of  his    bone;    and   that  we  live,   and    are  \ 
governed  forever,  by  one  Spirit,  as  members  of  the  same  body  ' 
are  by  one  soul." 

23.  The  real  communication  which  believers  have  with  Christ 
in  the  Holy  Supper,  extends  to  his  whole  person.  To  be  real, 
and  not  simply  moral,  it  ?)iust  be  thus  comprehensive.  We  may 
divide  Christ  in  our  thoughts,  abstracting  his  divinity  from  his 
humanity,  or  his  soul  from  his  body.  But  no  such  dualism  has 
place  in  his  actual  person.  If  then  he  is  to  be  received  by  us  at 
all,  it  must  be  in  a  whole  way.  We  partake  not  of  certain  rights 
and  privileges  only,  which  have  been  secured  for  us  by  the 
breaking  of  his  body  and  shedding  of  his  blood,  but  of  the  veri- 
table substantial  life  of  the  blessed  Immanuel  himself,  as  the 
fountain  and  channel  by  which  alone  all  these  benefits  can  be  con- 
veyed into  our  souls.  We  partake  not  of  his  divinity  only,  nor 
yet  of  his  Spirit  as  separate  from  himself,  but  also  of  his  true 
and  proper  humanity.  Not  of  his  humanity  in  a  separate  form, 
his  flesh  and  blood  disjoined  from  his  Spirit ;  but  of  the  one  • 
life,  which   is  the  union   of  both,   and  in  virtue  of  which  the 

16 


182  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE 

presence  of  the  one  must  ever  involve  in  the  same  form,  and  to 
the  same  extent,  the  presence  of  the  other. 

24.  Christ  communicates  himself  to  us,  in  the  real  way  now 
mentioned,  under  thk  form  of  the  sacramental  mystery  as  such. 
It  is  not  as  the  object  of  thought  simply  or  lively  recollection, 
that  he  is  made  present  in  the  ordinance.  Nor  is  it  by  the  ac- 
tivity of  our  faith  merely,  that  he  is  brought  nigh.  His  presence 
is  identified  "objectively  with  the  sacrament  itself;  and  we  re- 
ceive him  in  the  sacrament  as  the  bearer  of  his  very  life  itself, 
in  the  form  in  which  it  is  here  presented  to  our  view.  This  im- 
plies no  opus  operatum,  no  mechanical  or  magical  force  in  the 
use  of  the  elements.  All  is  by  the  Spirit:  and  for  the  commu- 
nicant himself,  all  hangs  upon  the  condition  of  f^iith.  But  still 
the  grace  exhibited,  the  action  of  the  Spirit  as  here  present,  be- 
longs to  the  sacrament  in  its  own  nature ;  and  where  the  way  is 
open  for  it  to  take  effect  at  all,  by  the  presence  of  the  proper 
conditions  on  the  part  of  the  communicant,  it  serves  in  itself  to 
convey  the  life  of  Christ  into  our  persons.     Such  is  the  sound 

fe.eling  of  Dr.  Owen,  the  great  Puritan  divine,  when  he  tells  us : 
*'  This  is  the  greatest  mystery  of  all  the  practicals  of  our  Chris- 
tian religion,  a  way  of  receiving  Christ  by  eating  and  drirdung, 
something  peculiar,  that  is  not  in  the  hearing  of  the  word  nor 
in  any  other  part  of  divine  worship  whatsoever;  a  peculiar  par- 
ticipation of  Christ,  a  peculiar  acting  of  faith  towards  Christ.'' 
The  presence  of  which  we  speak  is  not  in  the  bread  and  wine 
materially  considered  ;  but  in  the  sacramental  mystery  as  a  whole. 
This  consists  of  two  parts,  the  one  outward  and  visible,  the 
other  inward  and  invisible.  These  however  are  not  simply 
joined  together  in  time,  as  the  sound  of  a  bell,  or  the  show  of  a 
light,  may  give  warning  of  something  with  which  it  stands  in  no 
farther  connection.  They  are  connected  by  a  true  inward  bond, 
so  as  to  be  different  constituents  only  of  one  and  the  same  reality. 
This  union  is  not  mechanical  nor  local,  but  as  the  old  divines 
say,  mystical  or  sacramental ;  that  is  peculiar  to  this  case  and 
altogether  incomprehensible  in  its  nature,  but  only  all  the  more 
real  and  intimately  close,  on  this  very  account. 

25.  Christ  communicates  himself  to  us  in  the  sacrament  only  in 
a  spiritual^  central  way.  Not  his  body  by  one  process,  and 
his  Spirit  by  another;  but  his  whole  life,  as  a  single  undivided 
form  of  existence,  by  one  and  the  same  process.  Not  by  the 
mechanical  transplantation  of  some  portion  of  his  glorified  body 
i-fito  our  persons,  to  become  there  the  germ  of  immortality  in  a 
physical  view;  but  by  the  conveyance  of  his  life  in  its  inmost 
substance,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  over  into  the  very 
centre  of  our  souls.     The  communication  is  in  this  view  wholly 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  183 

independent  of  all  material  contact  or  conjunction.  It  holds 
altogether  in  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit.  Christ  reveals  his  pre- 
sence in  us  centrally,  as  the  power  of  the  new  spiritual  creation 
which  is  comprehended  in  his  person;  and  which  in  this  way  is 
made  to  extend  itself  out  organically,  over  the  entire  living  man  ; 
as  the  life  of  the  vine  is  re-produced,  with  all  its  prop^ties  and 
qualities,  in  every  branch  to  whicli  it  extends. 

26.    The  Lord's  Supper  is  the  medium  of  a  real  communicatioa 
icith  Christy  only  in  the  case  of  believers.     The  object  of  the 
institution  is  to  confirm  and  advance  the  new  life,  where  it  has 
been  already  commenced.     It  has  no  power  to  convert  such  as 
are  still  in  their  sins.     The  grace  which  it  exhibits,  can  be  ap- 
prehended only  by  faith.     Those  who  come  to  the  Lord's  table 
unworthily,  as  to  a  common  meal,  without  being  in  a  state  to 
discern  the  Lord's  body,  eat  and  drink  only  judgment  to  them- 
selves.    They  receive  in  no  sense  Christ's  flesh  and  blood ;    but 
the  bare  signs  only,  by  which  they  are  exhibited  for  the  benefit 
of  those  who  come  in  a  right  way.     Nor  is  it  enough  that  the 
communicant  be  a  regenerated  person ;  he  must  be  in  the  exer- 
cise of  faith  at  the  time.     A  gracious  state,  accompanied  with 
gracious  affections  in  the  transaction  itself,  is  the  indispensable 
condition  of  a  profitable  approach  to  the  Lord  in  the  holy  sacra- 
ment.    And   yet,  as  before  said,  it  is  not  our  faith  at  all  that 
gives  the  sacrament  its  force ;  nor  does  this  consist  at  all  in  the 
actings  of  our  faith,  or  penitence,  or  love,  or  any  other  gracious 
affection,  that   may  be  called  into  exercise  at  the  time.     These 
constitute  not,,  and  create  not,  the  presence  of  Christ  in  the  case. 
On  the  contrary,  this  presence  forms   itself  the   ground  from 
which  nil  such  affections  draw  their  activity  and  strength.     The 
force  of  the  sacrament  is  in  the  sacrament  itself.     Our  faith  is 
needed, .only  as  the  condition  that  is  required  to  make  room  for 
it  in  our  souls.     "  Thy  faith  hath   made  thee  whole,"  said  the 
blessed  Saviour  to  the  woman,  who  came  behind  him  in  the 
crowd,  and  touched  the  hem  of   his  garment.     But  the  healing 
virtue  went  forth  in  fact  wholly  from  his  own  person ;  and  was 
present  there,  as  an  ample  remedy  for  all  diseases,  independently 
altogether  of  any  application  that  might  be   made  to  him  for 
relief.     The  woman's  faith  formed  the  necessary  condition  only 
on  her  own  part,  for  her  becoming  the  recipient  of  the  grace 
which  was  thus  at  hand.     So  in  the  case  before  us.     The  virtue 
of  Christ's  mystical  presence  is  comprehended  in  the  sacrament 
itself,  and  cannot  be  said  to  be  put  into  it  in  any  sense  by  our 
faith.     This  serves  only  to  bring  us  into  right  relation  to  the 
life,  that  is  thus  placed  within  our  reach.     Faith  puts  not  into 
the  sacrament,  what  it  has  power  instrumentally  to  draw  from  it 
for  our  use. 


184  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

27.   ChrisVs  mystical  'presence  in  the  Eucharist,  as  now  af- 
Jirmed,  leaves  no  room  far  the  idea  of  transubstantiation  or 
coNsuBSTANTiATioN.     According  to  the  first  of  these  errors,  the 
bread  and  wine  are  changed  into  the  actual  substance  of  the 
Saviour's  body  and  blood.     According  to  the  other,  the  proper 
Lutheran  view,  the  Saviour's  true  body  and   blood  are  so  con- 
tained and  carried  in  the  elements,  that  the  reception  of  these 
even  on  the  part  of  the  impenitent  and  unbelieving,  is  supposed 
to  involve  the  reception  also  of  the  other.     Both  these  views  are^ 
chargeable  with    the   error  of  supposing    an    identification   ol 
Christ's  presence  in  the  eucharist  with  the  elements  as  such. 
According  to  the  Roman  theory,  this  is  permanent;   the  bread 
remains  Christ's  body,  even  when  carried  away  afterwards  to 
another  place.     By  the  Lutheran  doctrine,  the  relation  which 
binds  them  together  holds  only  in  the  sacramental  transaction 
itself;  but  while  it  holds,  it  is  such  that  the  elements  in  some 
way  bear  the  divine  life  which  they  represent,  so  that  it  is  re- 
ceived along  with   them  in  an  oral,  corporeal    manner.     This 
seems  to  imply  a  communication  of  the  bodily  life  of  Christ,  not 
physically,  of  course,  but  supernaturally,  to  the  body  of  the  be- 
liever, in   an  immediate  and   direct   way;  in   which  case,  the 
sacramental  fruition,  as  something  different  from  the  oral  recep- 
tion of  the  elements  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  spirituaF  partici- 
pation of  Christ's  body  and  blood  on  the  other,  becomes  no  bet- 
ter than  an  empty  word,  to  which  we  can  attach  no  meaning, 
unless  it  be  as  we  think  of  mere  blind  magic.     But  the  presence 
here  affirmed,  is  not  such  as  to  identify  the  body  of  Christ  in 
any  way  with  the  sacramental  symbols,  separately  considered. 
It  is  not  bound  to  the  bread  and  wine,  but  to  the  act  of  eating 
and  drinking.    In  the  service  of  the  eucharist,  and  by  its  means, 
the  believer  is  made  to  partake  of  Christ's  body  and  blood. 
The  outward  transaction,  where  faith  is  at  hand,  involves  this 
inward  fruition,  and  forms  the  vehicle  or  channel  by  which  it  is 
accomplished.     But  the  outward  is  not  itself  the  form  or  mode 
in  which  the  inward   here  takes  place.     The   participation  of 
Christ  is  wholly  spiritual.     He  communicates  liimself,  by   the 
Spirit,  to  the  soul  of  the  believer,  in  a  central  way,  according  to 
the  general  law  of  the  new  creation  to  which  this  mystery  be- 
longs.    No  room  is  left  here  for  the  supposition  of  a  mere  cor- 
poreal communication,  the  transference  of  Christ's  life  directly 
into  the  bodies  of  his  people,  even  though  conceived  to  be  in  a 
wholly   hyperphysical   way.     This,  it    is  felt,  would   be  only  a 
mechanical  and  outward  union  in  the  end  ;  the  action  at  best  of 
the  power  of  the  Spirit,  on  nature  as  such;   by  which  a'magical 
character  must  necessarily  be  imparted  to  the  ordinance,  as  in 
the  Church  of  Rome.     It  would  imply,  besides,  a  dualism  in  our 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  185 

proper  life,  that  must  overthrow  its  reality  ahogether.  As  the 
life  itself  is  one,  so  it  is  to  be  renovated  and  sanctified  through 
the  provisions  of  the  gospel  as  a  single  whole,  from  its  ground 
or  centre,  and  not  by  influences  exerted  in  any  way  upon  its 
organic  volume  apart  from  this.  The  new  nature,  to  be  real, 
must  spring  perpetually  from  the  inmost  being  of  its  subject,  in 
the  form  of  spirit;  and  every  fresh  impulse,  accordingly,  which 
it  is  made  to  receive  from  its  fountain  in  Christ,  in  whatever 
way,  can  be  communicated  to  it  only  in  this  general  form.  So 
the  participation  of  Christ's  life  in  the  sacrament,  is  in  no  sense 
corporeal,  but  altogether  spiritual,  as  the  necessary  condition  of 
its  being  real.  It  is  the  soul  or  spirit  of  the  believer  th-at  is  im- 
mediately fed  with  the  grace,  which  is  conveyed  to  it  mystically 
in  the  holy  ordinance.  But  this  is  in  fact  a  fruition  that  belongs 
to  the  entire  man;  for  tlie  life  made  over  to  him  under  such 
central  form,  becomes  at  once,  in  virtue  both  of  its  own  human 
character,  and  of  the  human  character  of  the  believer  himself,  a 
renovating  force  that  reaches  out  into  his  person  on  all  sides, 
and  fills  with  its  presence  the  undivided  totality  of  his  nature. 
In  whatever  sense  the  communication  may  be  real  at  all,  fs  dis- 
tinguished from  figurative,  imputative  or  simply  moral,  it  must 
be  real  for  the  whole  man,  and  not  simply  for  a  part  of  the  man. 


16* 


186 


THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


SECTION     IV. 


FALSE  TUEOIUES  EXPOSED. 


The  way  is  now  open  for  an  appeal  to  the  scriptures,  which 
must  be  regarded,  of  course,  as  the  ultimate  standard  of  truth  in 
iiiis  whole  case.  Christianity  is  not  a  philosophical  theory;  nor 
is  it  conveyed  to  us  in  the  form  of  an  infallible  outward  tradition. 
It  exists,  indeed,  for  itself,  as  a  permanent  supernatural  consti- 
tution in  the  Church;  but  to  be  understood  in  this  character,  it 
must  be  measured  and  interpreted  continually  by  the  written  word 
of  God,  which  hasTjeen  graciously  committed  to  the  keeping  of 
the  Church  for  this  very  purpose.  The  mere  presumptions,  then, 
which  have  been  established  in  favour  of  the  sacramental  doc- 
trine now  stated,  though  of  great  weight  certainly  in  themselves, 
are  not  enough  to  establish  the  doctrine  itself  This  can  be 
done  only  by  the  authority  of  the  Bible,  the  testimony  of  God's 
Word  sustaining  and  confirming  the  testimony  of  God's  Church. 

Before  we  pass  on  to  this  inquiry,  however,  this  might  seem 
to  be  the  proper  place  for  noticing  the  inextricable  difficulties 
and  contradictions  with  which  the  whole  subject  of  the  believer's 
union  with  Christ  is  necessarily  embarrassed,  where  it  is  Udt 
admitted  to  hold  in  the  form  which  has  now  been  brought  into 
view.  It  is  an  easy  thing  to  raise  objections  to  the  church  doc- 
trine in  this  case,  where  the  objector  is  allowed  to  shift  his  own 
position  at  pleasure,  without  being  required  to  give  any  properly 
scientific  account  of  his  faith,  in  its  ulterior  connections  and 
relations.  This  is  often  done,  through  want  of  true  theological 
cultivation,  where  all  that  would  be  needed  to  satisfy,  or  at  least 
to  silence,  opposition,  would  be  merely  some  general  insight  into 
the  difficulties  that  are  involved  in  the  stand-point  from  which 
the  objection  proceeds.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  for  men 
to  deceive  themselves  here  with  conceptions,  or  it  may  be  with 
words  oidy,  which  are  found  on  examination,  to  carry  with  them 
no  consistency  or  force  whatever. 

The  Socinian  view,  (Rationalism  without  disguise,)  can  never 
of  course  satisfy  the  (christian  heart  or  utulcrstanding.  It  makes 
Christianity  to  be  of  the  same  order  simply  with  other  systems 
of  religion;  only  under  a  more  perfect  form;  as  unfolding  a 
clearer  revelation  of  divine  truth,  a  better  system  of  ethical  rules 
and  precepts,  and  higher  motives  to  virtue,  particularly  in  the 
character  and  example  of  Christ  himself     At  last  however  it 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  187 

comes  to  no  real  union  with  God,  the  problem  towards  whose 
satisfaction  all  religion,  in  its  very  nature,  may  be  said  continu- 
ally to  struggle.  In  this  respect,  it  is  at  best  but  an  exalted  style 
of  Judaism,  or  an  improvement  rather  on  the  philosophical 
schools  of  Paganism.  It  throws  the  man  back  always  upon 
himself,  his  own  separate  powers  and  resources,  the  capabilities 
of  ihejlcsh  as  such,  to  perfect  his  nature  and  make  himself  meet 
for  heaven.  But  against  all  this,  the  whole  life  of  the  Christian 
revolts.  He  knows  that  siich  a  salvation  is  not  what  he  needs ; 
and  he  knows,  w'ith  equal  certainty,  that  it  is  not  what  he  has 
found  in  Christ.  All  this  too,  he  sees  to  be  in  full  contradiction 
to  the  representations  of  the  Bible.  Christ  is  greater  than  Moses 
and  all  the  prophets,  and  infinitely  more  also  than  Paul  and  the 
whole  company  of  the  apostles.  He  saves  not  by  his  doctrine 
and  example  merely,  but  by  redemption  and  renovation,  reach- 
ing to  the  inmost  life  of  his  people.  If  this  be  not  the  case, 
Christianity  is  shorn  of  all  its  glory,  and  the  whole  gospel  turned 
into  a  dream. 

The  Pelagian  affects  to  make  more  of  our  salvation  by  Christ. 
The  miracle  of  the  incarnation,  and  the  great  facts  to  which  it 
opened  the  way  in  his  history,  are  admitted,  and  allowed  to  have 
their  weight  in  the  scheme  of  redemption.  But  their  power 
comes  after  all  at  last  to  this,  that  they  serve  to  unfold  truth 
under  new  aspects  and  in  new  relations,  and  to  furnish  new  mo- 
tives and  helps  to  piety  in  an  outward  way.  Here  is  indeed  a 
peculiar  plan  or  method  of  salvation,  such  as  the  light  of  nature 
never  could  have  reached,  and  involving  in  fact  a  system  of 
wholly  supernatural  arrangements  for  its  accomplishment.  Still 
however,  the  whole  is  something  external  to  the  subject  of  the 
salvation  himself.  It  is  an  admirably  contrived  array  of  facilities, 
provided  in  God's  great  mercy  for  his  use,  by  which  he  has  it  in 
his  power  to  escape  the  pollutions  that  are  in  the  world  through 
sin,  and  lay  hold  of  glory,  honour  and  immortality.  But  he  is 
left  in  the  end  to  make  use  of  them,  in  the  same  way  precisely 
that  he  might  be  expected,  on  the  Socinian  hypothesis,  to  turn 
to  saving  account  Christ's  precepts  and  example.  We  are  thrown 
back  again,  upon  the  conception  of  a  simply  moral  salvation,  to 
be  constructed  out  of  such  material  in  the  way  of  life,  as  the 
subject  of  it  may  be  found  to  possess  in  his  own  nature,  when 
brought  under  the  action  of  this  divine  process  of  education. 

But  the  theory  may  rise  higher.  To  the  force  which  belongs 
to  the  truth  itself  in  its  relation  to  the  human  mind,  it  may  join 
the  influences  of  God's  Spirit,  graciously  interposed  to  clothe 
the  truth  with  effect.  Such  agency  we  often  hear  attributed  to 
the  Spirit,  by  those  who  at  the  same  time  reject  altogether  the 
thought  of  any  immcdiafe  change  wrought  by  it  in  the  nature  of 


1^8 


THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


the  human   soul  itself.     God's  grace  in  this  form,  they  say,  is 
brought  to  bear  on  the  soul,  mtdiatcly  only,  by  the  intervention 
of  his  word,  which  he  uses  instrumentally  for  the  purpose,  in- 
fusing into  it  light  and  power.     But  surely  those  wlio  talk  in 
this  way,  do  not  stop  at  all  to  consider  tlie  exact  sense  of  their 
own  words.     What  do  they  mean,  when  they  speak  of  the  Spirit, 
as  infusing  light  and  power  into  the  truth?     Can  he  do  so, 
(apart  from  a  direct  influence  on  the  soul  itself,)  in  any  other 
way  than   by  so  ordering  the  presentation  of  the  truth  to  the 
mind,  that  it  shall  be  placed  in  the  most  favourable  position  for 
exerting  the  power  which  belongs  to  it  in  its  own  nature?     But 
what  is  this  more  than  such  moral  suasion,  as  may  be  exercised 
over  the  spirits  of  men  in  a  merely  human  way,  by  appeals  ad- 
dressed to  the  understanding  and  will  ?     The  order  of  influence 
at  least  remains  the  same,  though   it  may  be  exhibited  under  a 
divinely  exalted  form.     In  this  view,  the  process  of  salvation,  in 
the  midst  of  all  the  high  sounding  terms  that  may  be  employed 
to  describe  it,  falls  back  again  to  the  stand-point  already  noticed. 
It  is  a  salvation  by  the  power  simply  of  truth,  presented  in  the 
form  of  doctrine  and   precept.     This  truth  includes  the  super- 
natural  facts  of  the  gospel,  the  mission,  sufferings,  death  and 
resurrection  of  Christ,  the  outward  apparatus  in  full,  if  we  may 
use  the  expression,  of  the  Christian  redemption  ;  and  along  with 
this  we  have  the  '*  moral  suasion"  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  unintelligible  hypothesis,  invests  the  whole  repre- 
sentation with  a  more  than  natural  evidence  and  power.     All 
turns  at  last  however  on  the  way  in  which  the  mind   thus  ad- 
dressed, may  be  wrought  upon  and   moved  to  act,  in  the  use  of 
such  resources  and  capabilities  as  are  already  comprehended  in 
its  nature.     It  matters   not  whether  the  facts  I  contemplate  be 
natural   or  supernatural  in   their  character,  whether   the  truth 
which  challenges  my  regard  be  brought  near  to  me  by  man  or 
angel,  or  by  God  himself;  if  all  hang  at  last  on  the  relation  of 
mere  knowledge,  and  the  stimulus  thus   imparted  to  my  will,  1 
am  left  under  the  dominion  still  of  my  own   fallen  life,  in  the 
.'-sphere  of  the  "flesh,"  and  without  any  power  to  rise  into  the 
sphere  of  the  "  Spirit."     The  mediatorial  work  as  something  to 
be  gazed  upon  and  admired  beyond  my  own  person,  can  never 
reach  the  necessities  of  my  case.     It  must  be  made  over  to  me 
as  my  own  in  some  way,  or  I  am  left  to  starve  and  perish  spi- 
ritually in  the  midst  of  a  merely  moral  and  rationalistic  redemp- 
tion. 

Here  we  are  brought  then  to  stand  upon  higher  and  more 
orthodox  ground.  The  doctrine  of  impufation  is  introduced,  to 
meet  the  demand  now  mentioned.  The  work  of  Christ  is  no 
longer  thought  of  as  a  mere  display  for  moral  effect;  it  is  some- 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMExVT. 


189 


thing  to  be  appropriated  and  made  available  in  the  person  of 
the  believing  sinner  himself,  for  the  purposes  of  salvation.  Mere 
doctrine  will  not  answer.  The  case  calls  for  an  actual  personal 
j)articipation  in  what  Christ  has  done  and  suffered,  to  take  away 
sin  and  reconcile  man  to  God.  But  how  is  this  to  be  accom- 
plished? By  iujputation,  we  are  told.  As  the  guilt  and  fall  of 
Adam  were  reckoned  to  his  posterity,  though  not  theirs  in  fact, 
so  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  and  the  benelits  of  his  mediatorial 
work  generally,  are,  in  virtue  of  the  terms  of  the  new  covenant, 
made  over  to  all  who  believe  in  his  name,  and  accounted  to  be 
theirs  as  truly  as  though  all  had  been  wrought  out  by  them,  each 
for  himself,  in  truth.  Their  justification  in  this  view  is  a  mere 
forensic  act  on  the  part  of  God,  which  is  based  altogether  on 
the  work  of  Christ,  and  involves  as  such  in  their  case  no  change 
of  character  whatever,  but  only  a  change  of  state.  God  regards 
them  as  righteous,  though  they  are  not  so  in  fact,  and  makes 
over  to  them  a  full  title  to  all  the  blessings  comprehended  in 
Christ's  life.  At  the  same  time,  he  regenerates  them  by  his 
Spirit,  and  puts  them  thus  on  a  process  of  sanctification,  by 
which  in  the  end  they  become  fully  transformed  in  their  own 
persons,  into  the  image  of  their  glorious  Saviour. 

But  here  the  question  rises,  How  can  that  be  imputed  or  reck- 
oned to  any  man  on  the  part  of  God,  which  does  not  belong  to 
him  in  reality?  This  is  the  old  difficulty  pressed  against  the 
orthodox  doctrine  by  the  Remonstrants  or  Arminians  of  Holland, 
(as  previously  also  by  the  Church  of  Rome),  and  constantly  re- 
peated by  the  Pelagianizing  school  from  that  time  to  the  present. 
And  it  must  be  admitted  to  carry  with  it  no  small  force ;  or  rather 
we  may  say,  that  for  the  form  in  which  this  doctrine  of  imputa- 
tion is  too  generally  held,  the  objection  is  fairly  insurmountable 
altogether.  The  judgment  of  God  must  ever  be  according  to 
truth.  He  cannot  reckon  to  any  one  an  attribute  or  quality, 
which  does  not  belong  to  him  in  fact.  He  cannot  declare  him 
to  be  in  a  relation  or  state,  which  is  not  actually  his  own,  but 
the  position  merely  of  another.  A  simply  external  imputation 
here,  the  pleasure  and  purpose  of  God  to  place  to  the  account 
of  one  what  has  been  done  by  another,  will  not  answer.  Nor 
is  the  case  helped  in  the  least,  by  the  hypothesis  of  what  is  called 
a  legal  federal  union  between  the  parties,  in  the  case  of  whom 
such  a  transfer  is  supposed  to  be  made ;  so  long  as  the  law  is 
thought  of  in  the  same  outward  way,  as  a  mere  arbitrary  arrange- 
ment or  constitution  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  end  in  ques- 
tion. The  law  in  this  view  would  be  itself  a  fiction  only,  and 
not  the  expression  of  a  fact.  But  no  such  fiction,  whether  under 
the  name  of  law  or  without  it,  can  lie  at  the  ground  of  a  judg- 
ment entertained  or  pronounced  by  God.     Can  we  conceive  of 


190 


THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 


any  constitution,  for  instance,  in  virtue  of  which  it^could  liave 
been  proper  or  possible  for  the  divine  mind,  tiius  to  set  over  to 
the  account  of  mankind  the  apostacy  of  the  angeJs  vvhicli  i\cpt 
not  tlieir  first  estate,  the  two  natures  being  relatively  to  each 
other  what  they  are  at  this  time?  If  all  depended  on  the  arbi- 
trary pleasure  of  God,  the  force  of  a  mere  outward  arrangement 
constituting  one  the  representative  of  another  without  farther 
relation,  we  cannot  see  why  the  transfer  of  oruilt  micrht  not  take 
place  from  angels  to  men,  as  well  as  from  Adam  to  his  posterity. 
The  very  fact  that  our  whole  reason  and  feeling  revolt  against 
the  thought  in  the  first  case,  serves  only  to  show  that  the  pro- 
ceeding must  rest  upon  some  deeper  ground  in  the  other.  So 
as  it  regards  our  justification  by  Christ.  A  merely  outward 
constitution,  making  him  to  be  one  with  us  in  law  simply,  and 
giving  us  an  interest  in  his  righteousness  only  n<i  if  it  were  our 
own,  while  it  is  not  our  own  in  fact,  cannot  satisfy  our  sense  of 
truth  and  right.  All  true  Christians,  whatever  their  theory  with 
regard  to  the  point  may  be,  feel  that  their  union  with  Christ  is 
something  far  more  than  this,  and  that  their  property  in  the 
benefits  of  his  death  and  resurrection  rests  upon  a  basis  infinitely 
more  sure  and  solid. 

Do  we  then  discard  the  doctrine  of  imputation,  as  maintained 
by  the  orthodox  theology  in  opposition  to  the  vain  talk  of  the 
Pelagians?  By  no  means.  We  seek  only  to  establish  ihe'doc- 
trine;  for  without  it,  most  assuredly,  the  whole  structure  of 
Christianity  must  give  way.  It  is  only  when  placed  on  false 
ground,  that  it  becomes  untenable  in  the  way  now  stated.  To 
relieve  it  from  objection,  it  must  be  made  to  appear  under  its 
true  and  proper  biblical  form.  The  Bible  knows  nothing  of  a 
simply  outward  imputation,  by  which  something  is  reckoned  to 
a  man  that  does  not  belong  to  him  in  fiict.  The  fall  of  Adam 
is  adjudged  to  be  the  fall  of  his  posterity,  because  it  was  so 
actually.  The  union  in  law  here  is  a  union  in  life.  The  fall 
itself  forms  a  certain  condition  or  state,  which  supposes  life  as 
its  subject.  And  how  then  could  the  one  be  imputed  without 
the  presence  of  the  other  ?  May  an  attribute  or  quality  be  made 
to  extend  in  a  real  way,  beyond  the  substance  to  which  it  is 
attached  and  in  which  only  it  can  have  any  real  existence?  The 
moral  relations  of  Adam,  and  liis  moral  cliaracter  too,  are  made 
over  to  us  at  the  same  time.  Our  participation  in  the  actual 
unrighteousness  of  his  life,  forms  the  ground  of  our  participation 
in  his  guilt  and  liability  to  puiyshment.*     And  in  no  other  way, 

*  All  mankind  descending  from  Adam  by  ordinary  ijcneration,  according  to 
the  Westminster  Catechism,  "  sinned  in  iiim,  and  fell  with  him,  in  his  iirst 
transgression."  This  representation,  it  is  \<-ell  known,  has  called  forth  no 
small  reproach  and  sarcasm  even,  at  the  expense  of  the  venerable  symbol  in 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  191 

we  affirm,  can  the  idea  of  imputation  be  satisfactorily  sustained 
in  the  case  of  the  second  Adam.  The  scriptures  make  the  two 
cases,  in  this  respect,  fully  parallel.  We  are  justified  freely  by 
God,  on  the  ground  of  what  Christ  has  done  and  suflfered  in 
our  room  and  stead.  His  righteousness  is  imputed  to  us,  set 
over  to  our  account,  regarded  as  our  own.  But  here  again  the 
relation  in  law,  supposes  and  shows  a  corresponding  relation  in 
life.  The  forensic  declaration  by  which  the  sinner  is  pronounced 
free  from  guilt,  is  like  that  word  in  the  beginning  when  God 
said.  Let  there  he  light,  and  light  was.  It  not  only  proclaims 
him  righteous  for  Christ's  sake,  but  sets  the  righteousness  of 
Christ  in  him  as  a  part  of  his  own  life.  And  in  doing  this,  it 
sets  the  very  life  of  Christ  in  him,  in  the  same  way.  For  riglit- 
eousness,  like  guilt,  is  an  attribute  which  supposes  a  subject  in 
which  it  inheres,  and  from  which  it  cannot  be  abstracted  without 
ceasing  to  exist  altogether.  In  the  case  before  us,  this  subject 
is  the  mediatorial  nature  or  life  of  the  Saviour  himself  What- 
ever there  may  be  of  merit,  virtue,  efficacy,  or  moral  value  in 
any  way,  in  the  mediatorial  work  of  Christ,  it  is  all  lodged  in 
the  life,  by  the  power  of  which  alone  this  work  has  been  accom- 
plished, and  in  the  presence  of  which  only  it  can  have  either 
reality  or  stability.  The  imaginatioa  that  the  merits  of  Christ's 
life  may  be  sundered  from  his  life  itself,  and  conveyed  over  to 
his  people  under  this  abstract  form,  on  the  ground  of  a  merely 
outward  legal  constitution,  is  unscriptural  and  contrary  to  all 
reason  at  the  same  time.  The  legal  union,  to  be  of  any  force 
for  the  imputation  that  is  here  required,  must  be  a  life  union. 
In  the  very  act  of  our  justification,  by  which  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  is  accounted  to  be  ours,  it  becomes  ours  in  fact  by  our 
actual  insertion  into  Christ  himself     He  is  joined  to  us  mysti- 

which  it  occurs.  It  has  been  charged  with  teaching  physical  depravity,  and 
a  transier  of  personal  character.  Unfortunately,  moreover,  the  friends  of  the 
Catechism,  in  their  attempts  to  vindicate  its  doctrine  at  this  point,  have  not 
always  planted  themselves  on  the  proper  ground  for  its  defence.  They  have 
themselves  rested  on  the  conception  of  a  merely  e.\ternal  imputation,  which 
could  give  its  subjects  at  best,  iii  the  end,  only  a  quasi  interest  in  the  real  fact 
it  represented.  With  such  an  idea  of  imputation,  we  may  well  say  that  the 
doctrine  here  proclaimed  can  never  maintain  its  ground.  But  we  meet  the 
objection  effectually,  by  simply  descending  to  the  proper  depth  of  the  doctrine 
itself.  Here  is  no  outward  transfer  to  one,  of  something  properly  belonging 
only  to  another.  The  language  of  the  Catechism  is  literally  and  strictly  cor- 
rect. We  sinned  in  Adam,  and  fell  xvith  him,  in' his  first  transgression.  That 
transgression  was  oiirs.  The  person  in  which  it  took  place,  formed  the  actual 
complex  of  the  entire  human  race.  The  individual  existence  of  every  par- 
ticular sinner,  is  but  the  historical  evolution,  in  part,  of  the  general  life,  that 
originally  fell  in  this  way.  Original  sin,  accordingly,  is  carefully  described 
by  the  Catechism,  as  consisting,  not  simply  "  in  the  guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin," 
but  in  his  "  want  of  original  righteousness''  also,  and  in  "  the  corruption  of 
his  whole  nature."  So  it  is  in  fact.  A  fallen  life  in  the  first  place,  and  on 
the  ground  of  this  only,  imputed  guilt  and  condemnation. 


192  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

cally  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  becomes  in  this  way 
the  principle  of  a  new  creation  within  us,  which  from  the  very 
start  includes  in  itself  potentially,  all  that  belongs  to  it  already 
in  his  own  person.  The  life  thus  set  over  into  the  believer,  by 
the  creative  fiat  of  his  justification  itself,  is  the  bearer  of  all  the 
new  relations  in  which  he  is  thus  brought  to  stand,  as  well  as 
of  all  the  other  benefits  he  is  made  to  receive  on  Christ's  account. 
Even  if  we  might  conceive  of  an  imputation  of  what  is  termed 
the  passive  obedience  of  the  Redeemer  to  his  people,  under  a 
merely  abstract  character,  we  must  find  every  such  conception 
inadmissible,  at  least  in  the  case  of  his  active  obedience;  though 
in  truth  they  cannot  be  disjoined  in  this  way.  Allow  the  possi- 
bility of  such  an  outward  transfer  of  the  value  of  the  atonement, 
how  are  we  to  have  an  interest  in  the  new  character  to  whicji 
humanity  has  been  raised  in  his  person,  or  the  triumphs  he  has 
secured  in  its  behalf?  We  need  holiness  as  well  as  pardon;  and 
the  gospel  clearly  represents  Christ  to  be  the  fountain  of  the  first, 
no  less  than  he  is  the  author  of  the  second.  The  obedience  by 
which  we  are  constituted  righteous  in  both  forms,  is  found  to  be 
at  last  his  obedience,  and  not  ours,  except  as  we  derive  it  from 
his  person.  But  who  can  think  of  a  merely  abstract,  outward 
transfer  of  Christ's  righteousness  actively  considered,  or  as  com- 
prehended in  the  new  character  to  which  our  nature  has  been 
positively  exalted  in  his  life?  Imputation  here  becomes  some- 
thing altogether  unintelligible,  if  it  be  not  allowed  to  involve  in 
its  very  conception  an  extension  of  this  life  itself,  truly  and 
really,  to  those  in  whose  favour  it  is  supposed  to  hold.  The  ac- 
tive obedience  of  Christ,  regarded  as  vicarious,  has  no  meaning 
whatever,  except  on  the  basis  of  such  a  real  life  union  between 
him  and  his  people  ;  and  we  find  accordingly,  that  where  the  idea 
of  this  last  becomes  obscure  or  confused  in  the  consciousness  of 
the  Church,  the  conception  of  the  obedience  now  mentioned  is 
always  lost  to  the  same  extent.* 

*  Both  fonns  of  obedience  in  the  end,  as  Ernesti  and  others  have  shown, 
are  the  same — only  different  aspects,  at  most,  of  the  one  vicarious  work  of 
Clirist  in  behalf  of  his  people.  The  value  of  Christ's  sufieriugs  depended  on 
the  perfect  holiness  of  his  character  ;  and  his  character,  in  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  stood,  could  not  be  comjdete  except  by  his  sutferings.  His  right- 
eousness, however,  as  a  whole,  has  two  sides  ;  one  negative  and  the  other 
positive;  the  first  exhibited  in  the  way  of  victory  over  sin  and  death,  the  other 
as  the  free  activity  of  holiness  itself  in  the  form  of  life.  Both  necessarily  go 
together  in  the  transfer  of  Christ's  rigliteousness  to  the  believer.  In  the  Roman 
Church,  the  doctrine  of  such  a  participation  in  the  active  obedience  of  the 
Saviour,  was  of  course  obscured  by  the  view  commonly  taken  of  good  works. 
With  the  Reformation,  it  came  into  full  credit.  But  for  the  rationalistic  period 
again  it  had  no  meaning.  Kuapp,  and  theologians  of  the  same  stamp,  coji- 
sider  it  unscriptural  and  absurd,  to  speak  of  a  vicarious  obedience  of  Christ 
in  this  form.  It  contradicts,  they  say,  the  great  principle  in  religion,  that 
every  man's  character  is  to  be  determined  by  his   own  works,  and  not  by  tlie 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  193 

Christ  then  must  be  regarded  as  the  source,  in  some  way,  of 
a  new  life  for  his  people.  So  the  scriptures  teach.  So  the  na- 
ture of  the  Christian  salvation  plainly  requires.  So  the  orthodox 
faith  of  the  Church  has  always  held.  Christ  is  in  the  believer 
and  the  believer  is  in  Christ;  not  by  a  moral  relationship  simply, 
and  not  by  a  legal  connection  only ;  but  by  the  bond  of  a  com- 
mon life.  Any  thing  lower  than  this,  is  felt  to  be  no  better  in 
the  end  than  rationalism  itself  But  it  may  be  said,  this  common 
life  is  nothing  more  than  the  presence  and  influence  of  Christ's 
Spirit  in  the  souls  of  his  people,  carrying  forward  the  work  of 
grace  and  transforming  them  gradually  into  his  own  image. 
This  ground  is  often  taken  in  fact  by  such  as  claim  here  the 
highest  character  for  orthodoxy ;  and  in  this  way,  they  persuade 
themselves  that  it  is  possible  to  meet,  in  the  most  satisfactory 
manner,  all  the  demands  of  the  Christian  salvation  as  they  have 
just  been  stated,  with  regard  to  the  point  now  under  considera- 
tion. They  profess  to  accept  the  doctrine  of  the  mystical  union, 
as  it  is  called,  without  qualification  or  reserve  ;  and  speak  of  it 
perhaps,  with  apparently  earnest  respect,  as  one  of  the  most  vital 
and  precious  truths  of  the  gospel.  And  yet  all  comes  to  this 
at  last,  that  the  same  Spirit  which  dwells  in  Christ,  and  which 
is  called  the  "  Spirit  of  Christ"  on  this  account,  dwells  also  in 
us,  and  makes  us  to  be  of  the  same  mind  with  him  more  and 
more !  This  they  take  to  be  plainly  the  scriptural  view  of  the 
case;  for  he  that  is  joined  to  the  Lord,  it  is  said,  "is  one 
Spirit;"  and  Christians  are  represented  everywhere  as  being 
under  the  influence  of  Christ's  Spirit,  and  as  filled  and  ruled  by 
his  presence. 

But  here  we  are  in  great  danger  of  being  put  off  with  mere 
words  and  phrases,  to  which  no  clear  sense  is  attached  in  the 
minds  of  those  by  whom  they  are  used ;  so  that  it  becomes  ne- 
cessary to  insist  on  some  more  definite  statement  of  what  pre- 
cisely is  intended  by  those  who  make  this  representation.  If 
their  meaning  were  simply,  that  the  presence  of  Christ  in  the 
Church,  and  his  union  with  his  people,  hold  through  the  medium 
of  the  Spirit,  there  would  be  no  room  for  objection.  This  would 
accord  with  the  scriptures,  and  satisfy  at  the  same  time  the  de- 
mands of  the  heart  and  understanding.  As  Christ  is  said  to 
dwell  in  his  people  personally,  so  he  is  represented  as  dwelling 

works  of  another.  This  would  be  true,  on  the  supposition  of  a  mere  outward 
imputation  in  the  case  ;  but  it  only  shows  the  necessity  of  taking  a  deeper 
view  of  the  whole  subject.  Not  the  works  of  Christ,  as  something  sundered 
from  his  life,  are  made  over  to  his  people,  but  the  triumphant  power  of  his 
life  itself,  revealing  itself  in  them  and  through  them  as  the  bearer  of  his  right- 
eousness in  the  same  active  form.  Their  virtue  then  is  indeed  their  own,  and 
yet  the  virtue  of  Christ  working  its  proper  fruits  in  them  at  the  same  time. 

17 


194  THE    MYSTICAL   PRESENCE. 

in  them  only  by  his  Spirit ;  which  implies  plainly  that  these  two 
thoughts  are  in  the  end  fully  identical,  and  that  the  one  presence 
is  not  only  the  pledge  of  the  other,  but  the  very  form  also  in 
which  it  is  made  actually  to  have  place.  Nor  is  there  any  con- 
tradiction in  this,  but  on  the  contrary  vast  relief,  as  it  regards 
the  apprehension  of  the  mystery  itself  For  in  this  way,  the 
whole  fact  of  the  mystical  union  is  at  once  lifted  above  the 
sphere  of  mere  nature,  and  exhibited  to  us  as  holding  in  a 
higher  order  of  existence  altogether.  We  know  that  Christ  does 
not  dwell  in  his  people  physically,  in  the  common  sense  of  this 
term,  or  according  to  the  constitution  of  our  present  natural  life 
in  any  way ;  and  we  must  necessarily  therefore  refer  the  fact  to 
a  supernatural  constitution,  if  it  is  to  be  retained  in  our  faith  at 
all.  Such  a  supernatural  constitution  is  presented  to  us  in  the 
new  order  of  life,  which  is  comprehended  in  the  Spirit.  This 
life  springs  from  Christ,  and  reveals  itself  through  the  Spirit,  as 
its  medium,  element,  or  form.  As  present  himself  then  in  the 
Church  to  the  end  of  time,  Christ  dwells  in  his  people  only  in 
this  way.     His  presence  is  in  the  Spirit,  and  not  in  the  flesh. 

But  this  is  not  the  meaning  of  those,  to  whom  we  now  refer. 
Christ,  they  say,  dwells  in  his  people  by  his  Spirit:  but  in  the 
way  only  of  representation,  not  in  the  way  of  strict  personal 
inbeing  on  his  own  part.  They  sunder  the  Spirit  of  Christ  from 
Christ  himself,  and  tell  us  that  the  first  only,  and  not  the  last  is 
directly  joined  with  believers  in  the  mystical  union.  Only  as  the 
same  Spirit  dwells  likewise  in  the  glorified  Saviour,  he  may  be 
regarded  as  the  bond  of  a  living  connection  also  between  Clirist 
in  heaven  and  the  Church  on  earth;  since  both  parties  are  made 
thus,  not  directly  but  circuitously  at  least,  to  possess  the  same 
life.  But  here  several  difficulties  come  into  view,  which  are  in 
general  overlooked  by  the  theory  before  us  altogether. 

In  the  first  place,  we  aje  not  told  ex[)licitly  whether  the  S|)irit 
of  Christ  be  supposed,  in  the  case,  to  be  identical  with  the  idea 
of  his  divine  nature,  or  not.  Does  the  actual  presence  of  the  one 
involve  the  actual  presence,  to  the  same  extent,  of  the  other.  In 
the  form  in  which  (he  subject  is  often  presented,  it  might  seem 
that  the  whole  Christ,  divine  and  human,  was  held  to  be  in  the 
Chufch,  and  in  particular  believers,  onhj  by  his  Spirit,  as  an  en- 
tirely distinct  form  of  existence,  constituting  the  third  person  of 
the  glorious  Trinity.  Here  is  a  point  of  some  importance,  that 
needs  to  be  deiinitely  explained.  In  any  case  however,  Christ's 
divinity  as  joined  hypostatically  with  his  humanity,  cannot  be  re- 
garded on  thisliypothesis  as  present.  If  the  Logos  be  present 
at  all,  it  is  not  in  its  character  as  incarnate,  but  only  in  the  cha- 
racter which  belonged  to  it  before  it  became  flesh.  In  any  other 
view,  the  whole  Christ  must  be  held  to  be  personally  absent,  and 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  195 

present  only  by  proxy  or  substitution,  in  the  separate  agency  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  How  this  is  to  be  counted  a  true  and  actual 
presence  of  the  Saviour  himself,  answerable  to  his  own  promise, 
and  also  to  the  strong  terms  in  which  the  mystical  union  is 
spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  not  easy  certainly  to  per- 
ceive. 

But  again.  What  is  there  peculiar  in  the  grace  of  the  New 
Testament,  under  this  view,  as  compared  with  the  grace  enjoyed 
by  the  saints  under  the  Old?  Does  all  turn  upon  the  fuller  reve- 
lation, the  new  facts,  the  more  ample  privileges  and  opportunities, 
that  distinguish  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel  ?  The  scriptures 
plainly  teach,  that  the  difference  is  more  than  this.  Christ,  as 
the  angel  of  the  covenant,  was  with  his  people  under  the  old  dis- 
pensation ;  and  we  know,  that  there  were  communications  of  the  • 
Spirit  then  also,  under  a  certain  form.  But  it  is  everywhere  \ 
assumed  in  the  New  Testament,  that  the  presence  of  the  one,  \ 
and  the  communications  of  the  other,  have  become  since  the  in-  , 
carnation  of  a  wholly  different  character.  It  devolves  on  the 
theory  before  us  then,  to  say  in  what  this  difference  consists.  It 
seems  certainly  to  make  no  account  of  it  whatever.  All  would 
appear  at  least  to  be  reduced  to  a  difference  in  measure  and  quan-( 
tity  merely,  the  order  of  the  grace  being  supposed  to  continue 
the  same.  The  incarnation,  it  is  assumed,  was  a  fact  of  no  force 
directly  except  for  the  Redeemer  himself,  separately  considered. 
He  is  now  in  heaven,  under  human  form,  as  he  was  in  heaven 
before  without  this  form  ;  and  as  he  manifested  himself  previously 
to  the  patriarchs  and  prophets,  in  his  divine  nature,  or  by  his 
Spirit,  so  he  continues  now  to  manifest  himself  to  his  Churcb 
still,  only  with  more  large  and  free  grace,  in  the  same  way.  The 
Spirit  of  Christ,  by  which  he  is  said  to  dwell  in  his  people,  has 
not  become  different  at  all  in  this  view  by  the  fact  of  his  incar- 
nation, from  what  the  same  Spirit  was  in  relation  to  men  before. 
He  is  not  the  medium  of  a  new  spiritual  creation,  established  or 
constituted  by  the  miracle  of  the  incarnation  itself — the  divine 
life  flowing  forth  upon  the  world,  through  the  everlasting  power 
of  that  fact,  under  its  own  peculiar  and  appropriate  form ;  his 
agency  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  incarnation  whatever,  except 
in  an  outward  mechanical  way  ;  all  at  last  resolves  itself  into  the 
same  abstract  relation,  which  the  Spirit  of  God  is  represented  as 
liolding  to  men,  before  Christ  assumed  our  nature  into  union 
with  himself  at  all.  Is  this  what  the  theory  means  ?  If  so,  let 
the  thought  be  distinctly  proclaimed  and  the  difficulties  honestly 
faced  which  it  necessarily  draws  in  its  train.  Let  the  Church 
know  that  she  is  no  nearer  to  God  now  in  fact,  that  is  in  the  way 
of  actual  life,  than  she  was  under  the  Old  Testament;  that  the 
indwelling  of  Christ  in  believers,  is  only  parallel  with  the  divine 


196  THE    MYSTICAL   PRESENCE. 

presence  as  enjoyed  by  the  Jewish  saints,  who  all  died  in  faith 
*'  not  having  received  the  promises"  (Heb.  11 :  13) ;  that  the  mys- 
tical union  in  the  case  of  Paul  or  John  was  nothing  more  intimate 
and  vital  and  real,  than  the  relation  sustained  to  God  by  Abraham, 
or  David,  or  Isaiah.  Or  if  this  be  not  intended  nor  admitted, 
lei  the  true  nature  of  the  difference  be  explained. 

And  then  once  more;  taking  this  presence  of  the  Spirit  for  all 
it  claims  to  be  in  this  case,  in  what  form  of  existence  specifically 
must  it  be  conceived  to  hold  ?  Under  the  Old  Testament  at 
least,  it  was  always  an  afflatus  or  influence  simply,  exerted  on  the 
soul  of  the  person  to  whom  it  was  extended.  Is  this  all  that  we 
are  to  understand  by  it,  in  the  Christian  Church  ?  So  the  theory 
would  appear  to  mean.  Christ  dvi'ells  in  us  by  his  Spirit,;  and 
the  Spirit  dwells  in  us,  by  his  operations,  influences,  graces.  And 
this,  we  are  told,  is  the  mystical  union,  in  virtue  of  which  the  life 
of  Christ,  and  not  simply,  his  benefits,  are  made  over  to  our  per- 
sons? But  is  it  the  actual  life  of  Christ  that  is  thus  conveyed 
into  us,  by  this  process?  Let  the  process  itself  be  examined  for 
the  answer. 

The  same  Spirit  it  is  said,  which  works  in  Christ  works  also  in 
us,  fashioning  us  as  we  are  into  the  same  image.  But  hoic  does 
he  work?  By  supernatural  influence,  it  may  be  said.  But  is  not\ 
this  to  fall  back  again  to"  the  theory  of  a  merely  moral  union  with 
Christ,  by  the  power  of  the  truth  only;  which  we  hav6  found 
already  to  be,  under  its  highest  form,  but  Pelagianism  in  disguise? 
Is  Christ  in  us  at  last  only  by  tiie  divine  suasion  of  his  {Spirit?  It 
will  be  hard  of  course  to  acquiesce  in  this.  The  case  calls  for 
more.  What  then  is  that  more?  The  Spirit,  it  may  be  said, 
creates  new  life  in  the  believer.  Very  well.  We  are  now  fairly 
beyond  the  sphere  of  mere  truth  and  moral  suasion.  But  what 
now  is  this  new  life?.  Somethinfj  of  course  that  was  not  in  the 
man  before.  Whence  then  does  it  come?  Is  it  the  proper  life 
of  the  Spirit  himself,  the  life  of  God,  directly  extended  to  the 
soul?  This  would  be  to  repeat  the  mystery  of  the  incarnation, 
in  the  case  of  every  new  believer  ;  and  such  a  thought  of  course 
is  not  for  a  moment  entertained,  by  any  who  have  come  to 
make  a  clear  distinction  between  the  idea  of  life  and  that  of  mere 
influence.  Whence  then,  we  ask  again,  comes  this  new  life  by 
the  Spirit?  Is  it  an  absolute  creation  out  of  nothing;  a  higher 
order  of  existence,  including  no  organic,  historical  connection 
whatever  with  any  law  of  life  already  at  hand,  whether  in  the  man 
himself  or  beyond  him,  but  originated  in  every  instance  as  a  new 
force  altogether,  superadded  to  the  regular  conslitutioH  of  the 
world?  Instead  of  one  great  miracle  then  in  Christianity,  the 
new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus,  we  should  have  iniracles  of  the  same 
order  without  number  or  end.     Every  believer  would  be  a  new 


SCIENTIFIC    STATEMENT.  197 

creation,  not  in  Christ  Jesus,  but  in  himself  as  the  absolute  start- 
ing point  of  a  life  that  had  never  been  known  in  the  world  before. 
And  then,  where  would  be  after  all  the  unity  of  this  life,  thus 
originated  de  novo'm  every  new  case,  for  the. Church  as  a  whole? 
And  in  what  sense  lastly,  might  it  be  denominated  at  all  the  life 
of  Christ,  who  is  the  head  of  the  body  which  it  is  thus  supposed 
to  fill?  Is  a  life  created  from  nothing  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  acting 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  without  any  regard  whatever  to  his  media- 
torial nature,  in  ajiy  real  sense  the  true  and  proper  life  of  Christ 
himself  as  our  Mediator!     Is  this  the  mystical  union  ? 

The  theory  destroys  itself.  Under  every  aspect,  it  is  found  to 
be  contradictory,  and  unintelligible,  and  false.  And  yet  this  view 
is  often  exhibited,  as  furnishing  a  clear  and  satisfactory  account 
of  the  union  of  Christ  with  believers;  while  the  supposition  of  a 
real  participation  in  his  proper  life  is  charged  with  mysticism  and 
nonsense! 

To  this  however  it  j/mst  come  in  the  end,  if  the  union  in  ques- 
tion is  to  be  regarded  as  anything  more  than  moral  simply  or 
legal.  We  have  seen  already  that  the  imputation  of  Christ's 
merits  to  his  people,  requires  that  his  life,  the  only  real  bearer  of 
these  merits,  should  pass  over  to  them  at  the  same  time.  And 
now  we  find,  that  the  mere  action  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  soul, 
whether  in  the  way  of  suasion  or  creation,  is  not  of  itself  this 
life  in  any  true  sense  whatever.  What  is  the  conclusion  then  to 
which  we  are  at  last  shut  up?  Plainly  this.  Christ  does  dwell 
in  us  by  his  Spirit ;  but  only  as  his  Spirit  constitutes  the  very 
form  and  power  of  his  own  presence  as  the  incarnate  and  ever- 
lasting Word.  The  Spirit  (which  is  thus  truly  the  Spirit  ofv 
Christ,)  does  form  us  by  a  new  divine  creation  into  his  glorious 
image;  but  the  life  thus  wrought  in  our  souls  by  his  agency,  is 
not  a  production  out  of  nothing,  but  the  very  life  of  Jesus  him- 
self, organically  continued  in  this  way  over  into  our  persons. 
This  the  case  demands.  With  nothing  less  than  this,  can  the 
salvation  of  the  gospel,  as  including  the  absolute  truth  of  religion, 
in  distinction  from  all  Judaizing  and  Pi^ganizing  heresies,  ever 
allow  itself  to  be  satisfied.  And  why  should  it  be  thought  a 
thing  incredible,  for  God  to  raise  the  dead  to  life  in  this  way? 
Those  at  least  who  are  willincj  to  allow  a  new  creation  out  of 
nothing  in  the  case  of  the  believer,  ought  not  to  find  any  diffi- 
culty surely  in  admitting  a  new  creation  from  the  actual  sub- 
stance of  Christ's  life  as  it  exists  already,  or  an  extension  of  this 
life,  in  other  words,  into  the  believer's  person.  If  the  Spirit  can 
be  supposed  to  create  de  novo  in  the  case,  it  is  hard  to  see  why 
it  should  be  counted  more  difficult  to  conceive  of  an  actual  for- 
mation of  Christ  in  us  through  the  same  divine  medium.  The 
first  conception  is  indeed  less  immediately  rccd ;  it  swims,  with 

17* 


198  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

fantastic  form,  in  the  distance.     Can  this  be  the  reason,  why  it 
should  be  counted  al  times  more  rational  than  the  other? 

But  allowing  now  that  Christ  does  indeed  dwell  in  his  people 
by  the  real  presence  of  his  personal  life,  through  the  Spirit,  and 
not  simply  by  the  presence  of  his  Spirit  as  a  surrogate  for  his 
own,  is  it  necessary  to  include  his  whole  life  in  this  mystical 
union?  To  this  question  there  would  seem  to  be  but  one 
answer.  It  is  with  the  mediatorial  life  of  Christ  that  the  Chris- 
tian salvation,  in  the  form  now  contemplated,  is  concerned.  In 
this  is  comprehended  the  entire  new  creation  revealed  by  the 
gospel ;  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  and  all  the  benefits  he  has 
procured  for  his  people.  But  the  mediatorial  life,  by  the  com- 
munication of  which  only  all  this  grace  is  made  to  pass  over  to 
men,  is  one  and  undivided.  To  be  in  real  union  with  it  at  all 
then,  we  must  be  in  union  with  it  as  a  whole.  The  presence  of 
Christ's  divinity  is  not  enough.  The  mecliatorial  life  includes 
his  humanity  also,  as  a  necessary  part  of  its  constitution.  Just 
as  little  of  course  are  we  at  liberty  to  divide  his  humanity  itself, 
by  supposing  his  soul  only  to  be  joined  with  his  people,  but  not 
his  body.  Every  abstraction  of  this  sort  must  become  involved 
at  last,  if  scientifically  pursued,  in  inextricable  embarrassment. 
Body  and  soul  are  alike  essential  to  the  conception  of  a  true 
human  life;  and  if  Christ's  life  be  in  us  at  all  in  a  real  way,  it 
seems  impossible  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  it  must  be  in  us, 
as  such  a  human  life,  in  the  one  form  of  existence  as  truly  and 
fully  as  in  the  other.  Both  forms  of  existence  constitute  in  fact 
but  the  same  living  nature;  and  the  extension  of  this  nature,  by 
the  power  of  the  Spirit,  to  the  soul  of  the  believer,  involves  ne- 
cessarily the  reproduction  of  the  life  as  a  whole  in  his  person. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BIBLICAL  ARGUMENT. 


SECTION  I. 


THE    INCARNATION. 


*'  The  Word  became  Jlesh !"  In  this  simple,  but  sublime 
enunciation,  we  have  the  whole  gospel  comprehended  in  a  word. 
From  the  glorious  orb  of  light  which  is  here  made  to  burst  upon 
our  view,  all  that  would  else  be  dark  and  chaotic  becomes  at 
once  irradiated  with  the  bright  majesty  and  everlasting  harmony 
of  truth  itself.  The  incarnation  is  the  key  that  unlocks  the 
sense  of  all  God's  revelations. 

It  is  the  key  that  unlocks  the  sense  of  all  God's  works,  and 
brings  to  light  the  true  meaning  of  the  universe.  The  world, 
and  especially  Man,  who  may  be  said  to  gather  into  his  person 
at  last  all  lower  forms  of  existence,  himself  the  summit  of  the 
vast  organic  pjramid,  is  a  mystery  that  is  solved  and  interpreted 
finally  only  in  this  fact.  Nature  and  Revelation,  the  world  and 
Christianity,  as  springing  from  the  same  divine  Mind,  are  not  two 
different  systems  joined  together  in  a  merely  outward  way. 
They  form  a  single  whole,  harmonious  with  itself  in  all  its  parts. 
The  sense  of  the  one  then  is  necessarily  included  and  compre- 
hended in  the  sense  of  the  other.  The  mystery  of  the  new  cre- 
ation, must  involve  in  the  end  the  mystery  of  the  old;  and  the 
key  that  serves  to  unlock  the  meaning  of  the  first,  must  serve  to 
unlock  at  the  same  time  the  inmost  secret  of  the  last. 

The  incarnation  forms  thus  the  great  central  fact  of  the 
world.  It  is  a  magnificent  thought  on  which  Heinrich  Steffens 
bases  his  system  of  Anthropology,  that  Man  is  to  be  viewed,  "  as 
the  end  of  a  boundless  Past,  the  centre  of  a  boundless  Present, 
and  the  beginning  of  a  boundless  Future."  In  the  most  eminent 
sense  may  we  say  this,  of  Him  who  is  the  centre  of  Humanity 
itself,  the  Son  of  Man,  as  revealed  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ. 
All.  nature  and  all  previous  history  unite,  to   form  one  grand, 


200  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

universal  prophecy  of  his  presence.     All  becomes  significant 
and  complete  at  last,  only  in  his  person. 

Nature,  through  all  lower  forms  of  existence,  looks  upwards 
continually  to  the  idea  of  man.  The  inorganic  struggles  to- 
wards the  organic;  the  plant  towards  the  animal;  and  the  ani- 
mal nature,  improving  upon  itself  from  one  order  of  life  to 
another,  rests  not  till  it  is  superseded  finally  by  the  human. 
Thus  all  converge  towards  the  same  end  ;  each  inferior  nature 
foreshadowing  that  which  is  to  follow,  till  the  vast  system  be- 
comes symmetrical  and  fnll,  in  a  form  of  perfection  which  may 
be  said  to  include  at  last  and  mirror  the  true  sense  of  the  whole.* 
Without  man  the  entire  world  would  be  shorn  of  its  meaninfj. 
It  is  by  the  medium  of  his  personality  only,  that  it  becomes 
transparent  with  thought  and  is  made  to  utter  any  intelligible 
sound.  The  world  finds  itself,  comes  to  the  knowledge  of 
itself,  in  man.  All  is  dark  till  it  has  made  its  way  up  to  the 
sphere  of  human  consciousness.  There  all  becomes  light.  Man 
is  the  centre  of  nature;  the  key  to  all  its  mysteries;  the  idea, 
which  binds  its  manifold  parts  into  one,  and  makes  them  com-, 
plete  as  a  single  organic  whole. 

But  what  man  is  to  nature  in  this  way,  Christ  may  be  said  to 
be  in  some  sense  to  man.  Humanity  itself  is  never  complete, 
till  it  reaches  his  person.  It  includes  in  its  very  constitution  a 
struggle  towards  the  form  in  which  it  is  here  exhibited,  which 
can  never  rest  till  this  end  is  attained.  Our  nature  reaches 
after  a  true  and  real  union  with  the  nature  of  God,  as  the  neces- 

*  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the  idea  here  presented  implies  no  pos- 
sibility whatever  of  a  regular  development,  on  the  part  of  any  lower  form  of 
existence,  upwards  to  the  sphere  of  that  wliich  stands  above*  it.  This  thought, 
which  has  been  exhibited  with  no  small  measure  of  plausibility  by  the  author 
of  the  little  volume  entitled  Vestiges  of  Creation,  has  been  justly  repudiated 
by  the  Christian  world  as  contrary  to  all  revelation  and  religion.  It  contra- 
dicts, besides,  all  sound  philosophy.  The  process  of  growth  and  historical 
development  can  never,  as  such,  evolve  from  any  form  of  existence  more 
than  was  actually  involved  in  it  from  the  beginning.  But  who  can  imagine  at 
all,  that  the  life  of  the  animal  is  ever  potentially  present  in  the  life  of  the 
plant.  To  say  that  the  law  of  existence  in  tlie  one  case,  is  made  to  include 
at  a  certain  point  more  than  was  comprehended  in  it  before,  is  only  to  play 
with  words;  for  the  inore  which  appears  in  that  case  must  be  considered  in 
all  respects  a  new  creation,  and  in  no  intelligible  sense  whatever  the- product 
or  birth  of  what  existed  jireviously.  The  ditference  between  the  anin)al  and 
man,  is  just  as  broad  as  tliat  between  the  animal  and  the  plant.  There  is  an 
impassable  gulph  between  the  two  forms  of  existence,  which  nothing  short  of 
a  new  creation  can  ever  surmount  in  the  case  of  the  lower.  But  all  this  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  view  presented  in  the  text.  It  is  aflirmcd  here,  sim- 
ply, that  the  lower  forms  of  existence  look  prophetically  towards  those  which 
are  above  them.  They  cannot  be  said  to  carry  these  in  their  womb,  in  any 
sense  ;  but  they  foreshadow  their  presence,  and  in  this  way  find  their  own 
full  meaning  always  in  something  beyond  themselves.  The  evidence  of  this 
is  so  plain,  that  the  fact  will  not  bn  called  in  question  by  any  who  have  oven 
the  most  general  acquaintance  with  the  actual  constitution  of  the  world. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  ,  201 

sary  complement  and  consummation  of  its  own  life.  The  idea 
which  it  embodies  can  never  be  fully  actualized,  under  any  other 
form.  The  incarnation  then  is  the  proper  completion  of  hu- 
manity. Christ  is  the  true  ideal  Man.  Here  is  reached  ulti- 
mately the  highest  summit  of  human  life,  which  is  at  the  same 
time  of  course  the  crowning  sense  of  the  world,  or  that  in  which 
it  finds  its  last  and  full  signification.  Here  the  human  consci- 
ousness itself,  the  medium  of  order  and  light  for  the  sphere  of 
mere  nature,  is  raised  into  a  higher  sphere,  from  which  a  new 
life  is  made  to  pour  itself  forth  again  over  the  whole  world. 
Man  finds  himself  in  God,  and  wakes  to  the  full  sense  of  his 
own  being,  in  being  enabled  thus  to  fall  back,  in  a  full,  free 
way,  on  the  absolute  ground  of  his  life.  The  one  only  medium 
of  such  inward,  living  communication  with  the  divine  nature,  is 
the  mystery  of  the  incarnation,  as  exhibited  in  the  man  Christ 
Jesus.  This  forms  accordingly,  without  a  figure,  the  inmost  and 
last  sense  of  all  God's  w^orks.  The  world,  from  its  extreme  cir- 
cumference, looks  inward  to  this  fact  as  its  true  and  proper 
centre,  and  presses  towards  it  continually,  from  every  side,  as 
the  end  of  its  entire  constitution.  All  is  one  vast  prophecy  of 
the  comincr  of  Christ. 

History  too  converges,  from  the  beginning,  always  towards 
the  same  point.  Not  only  here  and  there,  have  we  solitary  an- 
nunciations, more  or  less  obscure,  of  the  glorious  advent  of  the 
Messiah.  History,  like  nature,  is  one  vast  prophecy  of  the 
incarnation,  from  besfinninsf  to  end.  How  could  it  be  other- 
wise,  if  the  idea  of  humanity,  as  we  have  seen,  required  from 
the  first  such  a  union  with  the  divine  nature,  in  order  that  it 
might  be  complete?  What  is  history, but  the  process  by  which 
this  idea  is  carried  forward,  according  to  the  immanent  law  of 
its  own  nature,  in  the  way  of  a  regular  development  towards  its 
appointed  end?  The  introduction  of  sin — itself  a  world-fact, 
inseparably  incorporated  with  this  process  almost  from  its  start, 
and  turning  all  violently  into  a  false  direction — only  served  to 
add  a  deeper  emphasis  to  the  meaning  of  life,  in  the  view  now 
noticed.  /The  necessity  of  a  real  union  with  the  divine  nature,- 
became  a  necessity  at  the  same  time  of  redemption,  the  loud 
cry  of  suffering  humanity  after  an  atonement  for  sin.  The 
development  of  this  want,  might  be  said  to  form  thus  the  great 
burden  of  history,  onward  from  the  fall.  All  of  course,  in  this 
view,  had  a  reference  prophetically  to  the  coming  of  Christ. 
The  whole  creation  groaned  and  travailed  in  pain  together,  reach- 
ing forward,  as  it  were,  with  earnest  expectation,  to  the  hour 
of  this  deliverance  Not  only  Judaism,  but  Paganism  too, 
preached  beforehand  the  great  event.  Both  looked,  from  dif- 
ferent sides,  in  the  same  direction  and  towards  the  same   end. 


203 


THE    MYSTICAL   PRESENCE. 


Both  found  their  inmost  meaning  verified  at  last  and  explained 
in  Christ.* 

Paganism  must  ever  be  of  course  essentially  false,  under  all 
its  forms.  But  all  falsehood  involves  some  truth,  of  which  it  is 
the  caricature,  but  from  which  at  the  same  time  it  draws  its  life. 
The  time  has  been,  when  a  superficial  infidelity  sought  to  bring 
the  mysteries  of  Christianity  into  discredit,  by  comparing  them 
with  the  mythological  dreams  and  speculations  of  the  heathen 
world.  But  that  time,  it  may  be  trusted,  has  come  to  an  end. 
Christianity  as  the  absolute  religion,  must  inlhe  nature  of  the 
case,  take  up  into  itself,  and  exhibit  in  a  perfect  form,  the  frag- 
ments and  rudiments  of  truth  contained  in  all  relative  religions. 
It  is  not  a  doctrine,  but  a  divine  fact,  into  which  all  previous 
religious  tendencies  and  developments  are  ultimately  gathered 
as  their  proper  end.  As  in  Nature,  all  lower  developments  of  life, 
however  defective  or  seemingly  monstrous,  find  their  true  mean- 
ing and  value,  only  as  analogies  and  relative  approximations  to 
the  nature  of  man — whose  perfection  and  dignity  in  this  way 
they  serve,  not  to  disparage,  but  to  authenticate  and  magnify; 
so  do  the  ancient  religions,  both  of  the  Orient  and  West,  con- 
spire to  bear  testimony  in  favour  of  Christ,  falling  down  as  it 
were  before  him,  and  presenting  unto  him  gifts,  "  gold  and 
frankincense  and  myrrh."  Brahmanism,  Buddhism,  Parsism, 
the  religion  of  Egypt  and  the  religion  of  Greece,  each  in  its 
own  way,  look  ever  in  the  same  direction,  and  are  heard  to 
utter  in  the  end  the  same  voice.  All  prophesy  of  Christ ;  for 
all  proclaim  the  inmost  want  of  humanity  to  be  a  true  union 
with  God,  and  their  character  is  determined  simply  by  the  form 
in  which  it  is  attempted  in  each  case  to  bring  this  great  life 
problem  to  its  proper  resolution.  These  attempts  of  course 
destroy  themselves,  and  end  in  gross  contradiction.  The  Tri- 
murti,  or  pantheistic  triad  of  India,  falls  immeasurably  short  of 
the  Christian  Trinity.  The  incarnation  of  Vischnu  goes  not 
beyond  the  character  of  a  transient  phantasm.  Mithras,  Osiris, 
the  idea  of  a  wrestling,  suffering,  redceminir  ffod,  Ano/lo  amoncr 
the  Greeks,  or  Hercules,  forcing  his  way  to  Olympws;  all  are 
found  to  be  utterly  helpless  conceptions,  as  it  regards  the  pur- 
pose they  are  brought  forward  to  serve.  The  representation 
remains  always  inadequate  and  disproportionate,  in  the  highest 

Unus  Christus  Josus  doininus  noster  venicns  per  universam  dispositionem, 
ct  omnia  in  se  recapitulans.  Irena-iis. — Intcrcstinir  on  this  point  is  Dorner, 
in  the  Introduction  to  his  "  Christologic,"  or  History  of  the  Doctrine  of 
Christ's  Person.  Also,  the  Introduction  to  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in  its 
Historical  Development,  by  G.  A.  Meier — a  most  able  and  excellent  work, 
piil)lislied  in  1S41;  with  which  may  be  compared  advantageously  the  Intro- 
d notion  to  the  large,  very  learned,  but  leas  orthodox  work  of  Baur  on  the 
same  subject. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  203 

degree,  to  the  idea  it  struggles  to  reach.  All  ends  in  an  insur- 
mountable dualism.  An  impassable  gulph  continues  still  to 
divide  the  nature  of  man  from  the  nature  of  God.  But  the  sig- 
nificance of  all,  in  the  view  now  considered,  becomes  thus  only 
the  more  clear  and  full.  Under  all  its  manifestations,  Pagan- 
ism may  be  regarded  as  the  unsuccessful  effort  of  humanity,  cast 
upon  itself,  to  solve  the  problem,  whose  full  solution  is  revealed 
at  last  only  in  the  person  of  Christ.  Christianity  is  the  key  that 
interprets  its  mysterious  sense,  and  establishes  thus  its  own 
divine  character  at  the  same  time.  All  false  religions  prepare 
the  way  prophetically  for  the  presence  of  the  true,  and  serve  to 
authenticate  its  mission  when  it  has  come. 

Judaisjn,  we  all  know,  had  respect  to  the  coming  of  Christ, 
from  the  beginning.  The  preparation  which  in  the  case  of 
the  heathen  world  was  negative  only,  assumed  here  a  positive 
character.  The  religion  of  the  Old  Testament,  from  the  time 
of  Adam  down  to  the  time  of  John  the  Baptist,  stood  through- 
out on  the  ground  of  a  supernatural  revelation  that  might  be 
said  not  only  to  foreshadow  the  great  fact  of  the  incarnation, 
but  directly  to  open  the  way  also  for  its  manifestation.  It 
is  not  simply  the  necessity  of  a  union  with  God  on  the  part 
of  man,  the  cry  for  redemption  and  salvation,  which  it  is  felt 
can  be  reached  only  in  this  way,  that  is  here  made  to  reveal  itself 
in  the  world's  history;  a  real  approximation  to  men  on  the  part 
of  God,  in  the  way  of  a  movement  to  meet  this  want,  is  ex- 
hibited at  the  same  time.  Heathenism  might  be  said  to  run 
out  in  a  helpless  attempt  violently  to  deify  humanity  itself;  a 
process  that  must  ever  fall  back,  with  new  despair,  to  the  point 
from  which  it  started.  In  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament,,'' 
God  descends  towards  man,  and  holds  out  to  his  view  in  thi.si 
way  the  promise  of  a  real  union  of  the  divine  nature  with  the\ 
human,  as  the  end  of  the  gracious  economy  thus  introduced.  | 
To  such  a  real  union  it  is  true,  the  dispensation  itself  never 
came.  By  a  series  of  condescensions,  that  grew  always  more 
significant  and  full  of  encouragement  as  the  dispensation  ad- 
vanced towards  its  proper  end,  God  drew  continually  more  and 
more  near  to  men  in  an  outward  way.  But  to  the  last  it  con- 
tinued to  be  only  in  an  outward  way.  The  wall  of  partition  that 
separated  the  divine  from  the  human,  was  never  fully  broken 
down.  The  tabernacle  of  the  Most  High  was  among  men  ;  but 
he  dwelt  notwithstanding  beyond  them,  and  out  of  them,  be- 
tween the  cherubim  and  behind  the  veil.  He  spake  by  dreams, 
and  visions,  and  clear  words  of  prophecy,  that  became  always 
more  full  and  distinct ;  but  the  revelation  to  the  end,  was  a  reve- 
lation of  God  to  man,  and  not  a  revelation  of  God  in  man — the 
.only   form  in  which   it  was  possible  for  him  to  become  truly 


StD4  THE    MYSTICAL   PRESENCE. 

known.  Towards  this  ultimate  point  however  the  whole  pro- 
cess of  condescension  constantly  tended,  as  its  necessary  con- 
summation. The  meaning  of  the  entire  system  lay  in  its 
reference  to  Christianity.  Not  only  did  it  contain  particular 
types  and  particular  prophecies  of  the  incarnation ;  it  was  all 
one  vast  type,  and  throughout  one  continuous  prophecy,  in  this 
direction.  We  may  say  of  the  Old  Testament  as  a  whole, 
what  is  said  of  its  last  and  greatest  representative  in  particular. 
It  was  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  prepare  ye  the 
way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our 
God  !  It  might  be  said  in  some  sense  to  carry  the  Gospel  in  its 
womb.  All  the  great  truths  which  were  afterwards  brought  to 
light  by  Christ,  lay  more  or  less  undisclosed  in  its  revelations, 
growing  and  ripening  gradually  for  the  full  birth  towards  which 
they  struggled,  and  to  which  they  attained  finally  in  his  person. 
Without  Christianity,  Judaism  would  have  no  meaning,  no  pro- 
per reality.  It  becomes  real,  only  by  losing  itself,  and  finding 
itself  at  the  same  time,  in  the  new  dispensation.  The  law,  as 
such,  made  nothing  perfect.  All  served  only  to  harbinger  the 
advent  of  the  Messiah,  and  to  proclaim  his  presence  when  he 
came.  All  foreshadowed  and  foretokened  the  mystery  of  the 
incarnation. 

Here  then,  as  before  said,  we  reach  the  central  fact,  at  once 
ultimate  and  primal,  in  the  constitution  of  the  world.  '  All  na- 
ture and  all  history  flow  towards  it,  as  their  true  and  proper 
end,  or  spring  from  it  as  their  principle  and  ground.  The  in- 
carnation, by  which  divinity  and  humanity  are  joined  together, 
and  made  one,  in  a  real,  inward  and  abiding  way,  is  found  to  be 
the  scope  of  all  God's  counsels  and  dispensations  in  the  world. 
The  mystery  of  the  universe  is  interpreted  in  the  person  of  Jesus 
Christ. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  205 


SECTION  II. 


THE    NEW    CREATION. 


Christianity  stands,  as  we  have  seen,  in  close  connection  with 
the  order  of  the  world  as  it  existed  before.  Some  of  the  early 
heresies  pretended  to  magnify  it,  by  denying  all  connection  of  this 
sort.  They  would  have  it,  that  the  whole  state  of  the  world  as 
it  stood  previously  had  been  bad,  and  bad  only ;  and  that  it  was 
derogatory  to  the  glory  of  the  Gospel,  to  suppose  any  affinity 
whatever  between  it  and  any  older  form  of  life.  It  must  be 
viewed  as  an  entirely  new  order  of  existence,  suddenly  intro- 
duced from  heaven,  in  broad,  plump  opposition,  not  only  to  na- 
ture, but  also  to  the  whole  previous  course  of  history.  Even 
Judaism  must  be  disowned,  not  simply  as  a  lower  dispensation, 
but  as  a  false  system  unworthy  of  the  true  God  as  revealed  by 
Jesus  Christ,  and  at  war  with  the  great  object  of  Christ's  mis- 
sion into  the  world.  This  was  in  fact  to  overthrow  the  incarna- 
tion itself,  and  to  reduce  it  in  the  end  to  a  mere  phantasm,  that 
involved  no  real  union  whatever  between  the  divine  nature  and 
the  human.  To  be  r^a/and  true,  and  to  solve  at  all  in  this  way 
the  great  problem  of  life,  the  mystery  must  connect  itself  with 
the  constitution  and  course  of  the  world  in  its  previous  state. 
This  we  have  seen  to  be  the  case  in  fact.  Christianity  forms  no 
violent  rupture,  either  with  nature  or  history.  It  fulfils,  and  in 
doing  so  interprets,  the  inmost  sense  of  both.  Neither  could  be 
complete  without  its  presence.  Both  flow  over  into  it  naturally, 
as  their  own  true  consummation  and  end. 

But  the  Gnostic  error  just  referred  to,  like  all  error,  included 
also  its  truth  ;  in  this  case  a  great  truth.  There  was  another 
error  of  the  same  period  ;  one  to  which  the  Jewish  mind  espe- 
cially always  showed  a  strong  tendency  in  the  early  Church.  It 
saw  in  the  person  of  Jesus  only  a  continuation  of  the  old  crea- 
tion ;  in  the  high  form  particularly  which  it  was  made  to  carry 
in  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament.  Thus,  on  the  other  side, 
the  mystery  fell  to  the  ground.  The  old  chasm  between  the  di- 
vine and  human  was  left  to  yawn  as  before.  Christ  sunk  into  a 
mere  man.  Against  this  Ebionitic  heresy,  the  heresy  of  the 
Gnostic  had  its  right;  though  maintained  in  a  false  way.  Christ 
is  not  only  the  end  of  the  old  creation,  its  necessary  comple- 
ment and  completion ;  he  is  the  principle  also  of  a  new  creation, 
in  which  the  old  is  required  to  pass  away. 

18 


296  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

**  The  Word  became  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us — full  of  grace 
and  truth."  This  is  more  a  great  deal  than  the  simple  continua- 
tion of  the  old  order  of  the  world,  in  the  way  of  regular  histori- 
cal development.  Here  is  a  fact,  which  differs  from  all  ordinary 
facts  and  events,  not  simply  as  Iranscejiding  them  in  importance, 
but  as  beinor  of  another  order  altogether.  Jt  stands  before  us, 
not  as  the  result  or  product  strictly  speaking  of  any  powers  or 
tendencies,  that  were  comprehended  m  the  constitution  of  the 
world  before  its  manifestation;  but  as  the  introduction  of  a  new 
power  entirely,  which  was  to  form  from  that  time  onward  the 
central  force  in  the  progress  of  the  world's  history.  This  de- 
serves to  be  well  considered.  Let  the  case  be  compared  with 
some  other  fact  of  true  world-historical  moment ;  the  rise,  for 
instance,  of  Aristotle  and  his  philosophy.  How  much  hung  on 
the  mind  of  that  single  man !  It  gave  birth  to  an  empire,  which 
for  extent  and  duration  may  be  said  to  have  thrown  the  magin- 
ficence  of  all  the  Caesars  into  the  shade.  But  here  was  no  new 
creation,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term.  Aristotle  was  in  all 
respects  the  product  of  previous  history.  The  philosophy  that 
revealed  itself  through  his  person,  was  nothing  more  at  last  than 
the  development  of  powers  that  lay  involved  in  the  life  of  the 
world  as  it  stood  before,  and  that  waited  only  for  the  proper 
time  to  show  themselves  in  this  form.  Aristotle  added  nothins 
to  humanity  as  such;  he  was  the  medium  only,  by  which  it 
found  itself  advanced  to  the  position  secured  for  it  in  his  person. 
But  Jesus  Christ  was  no  such  product  of  the  past.  It  prophe- 
sied of  his  coming,  and  threw  open  the  way  for  his  approach. 
To  the  mystery  of  the  incarnation  itself,  however,  it  had  no  i 
power  to  rise.  Here  was  a  fact,  for  the  evolution  of  which  all  j 
its  capabilities  must  have  remained  forever  inadequate.  Herej 
was  a  fact,  which  even  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament  itself' 
liad  no  sufllciency  to  generate,  and  to  which  all  its  theophanies 
and  miracles  could  furnish  no  proper  parallel.  For  the  revela- 
tion of  the  supernatural  under  the  Old  Testament,  as  already 
remarked,  was  always  in  an  outward  and  comparatively  unreal 
way.  It  never  came  to  a  true  inward  union,  between  the  hu- 
man and  the  divine.  The  supernatural  uj)peared  above  nature 
and  beyond  nature  only.  '  It  never  entered  into  it,  and  became 
incorporated  with  it,  as  the  same  life.  However  it  might  be 
made  to  influence  the  process  of  history,  the  development  of 
humanity,  in  the  way  of  instruction,  or  occasion,  or  motive,  it 
could  not  be  said  to  bring  a  new  element  into  the  process  itself. 
But  in  the  person  of  Christ,  all  is  different.  The  supernatural; 
is  brouglit  not  only  near  to  nature,  but  into  its  very  heart;  not] 
as  a  transient  wonder,  but  to  remain  in  union  with  it  forever. 
The  everlasting  Word,  in  a  way  wholly  unknown  before,  descends^ 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  207 

into  the  actual  process  of  human  histor}-,  and  becomes  within 
it  the  principle  and  law  of  a  second  creation  immeasurably  more 
glorious  than  the  first.  It  is  by  no  mere  figure  of  speech,  that 
Christ  is  represented  to  be  tiie  autiior  of  a  new  creation.  Nor 
may  we  say  of  this  creation,  that  it  is  moral  simply,  consisting 
in  a  new  order  of  thought  and  character  on  the  part  of  men. 
It  is  no  revolution  of  the  old,  no  historical  advance  upon  the 
past  merely,  that  is  here  brought  into  view  ;  but  the  introduc- 
tion, literally  and  strictly,  of  a  new  element,  a  new  divine  force, 
into  the  very  organism  of  the  world  itself  The  incarnation,  in 
this  view,  is  fully  parallel  with  the  work,  by  which  in  the  begin- 
ning *'  the  worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of  Cod;"  and  in  the 
case  of  which,  we  are  told  "  things  which  are  seen  were  not 
made  of  things  which  do  appear."  As  the  formation  of  man  on 
the  sixth  day,  was  necessary  to  perfect  in  a  higher  sphere,  the 
organization  already  called  into  being  in  a  lower  ;  of  which  at 
the  same  time  it  could  not  be  said  to  be,  in  any  sense,  the  pro- 
duct or  result;  so  in  the  end,  to  crown  all  with  a  still  higher 
perfection,  the  Word  itself,  by  which  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
were  created  before,  became  permanently  joined  with  humanity 
in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  principle  of  a  new  earth 
and  new  heavens — the  continuation  and  necessary  complement 
of  the  previous  organization,  but  in  no  sense  again  its  historical 
product  or  birth. 

On  the  ground  of  the  general  fact  here  affirmed,  we  ascribe 
to  Christianity,  as  compared  with  the  world  in  any  other  view, 
the  character  of  absolute  reality  and  truth.  Nature  itself  is  only 
relatively  true  and  real.  It  finds  its  actual  sense,  as  we  have 
seen,  only  in  the  idea  of  humanity ;  and  in  this  idea  at  last,  only 
^s  actualized  in  the  mystery  of  the  incarnation.  It  is  all  a 
shadow  and  type  of  the  real;  but  for  this  very  reason,  not  the 
real  itself.  All  flesh  is  grass;  only  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  en- 
during. The  fashion  of  the  world  is  ever  passing  away,  like  a 
scenic  show;  only  Jesus  Christ  is  "the  same,  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever."  There  is  no  other  principle  of  reality  or  stability 
in  God's  creation.  So  all  history  becomes  true  at  last  only  in 
Christ.  This  is  exemplified,  most  instructively,  in  the  religion 
of  the  Old  Testament.  It  was  altogether  of  God.  To  it  per- 
tained "  the  adoption,  and  the  glory,  and  the  covenants,  and 
the  giving  of  the  law,  and  the  service  of  God,  and  the  promises." 
Of  ft  \ve\Q  the  fathers,  and  from  it  as  concerning  the  flesh, 
Christ  sprang,  who  is  over  all,  God  blessed  forever.  But  still, 
we  are  expressly  taught,  that  it  stood  related  to  the  gospel 
throughout,  only  as  a  shadow  to  the  substance  it  represents. 
And  this  is  to  be  understood,  not  simply  of  its  types  and  cere- 
monies as  such.    It  holds  in  full  force  of  its  whole  constitution. 


208  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

moral  as  well  as  ceremonial.  Its  truth  was  not  in  itself,  but  in 
a  different  system  altogether  to  which  it  pointed.  Its  reality  was 
in  no  respect  absolute,  but  in  all  respects  relative  only,  It  made 
nothing  perfect.  It  was  the  picture  merely  of  good  things  to 
come.  The  Epistle  to  the  Romans  and  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, each  in  its  own  way,  are  full  of  this  thought.  We  have 
no  right  to  say,  that  the  New  Testament  is  a  mere  extension  or 
enlargement  of  the  Old,  under  the  same  form.  "  The  law  was 
given  by  Moses,  but  grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ" 
(John  i.  17).  Among  all  the  prophets  of  the  old  dispensation, 
there  had  not  risen  one  greater  than  John  the  Baptist;  and  yet 
we  are  assured,  (Luke  vii,  28.)  that  the  "least  in  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  greater  than  he."  All  previous  revelations  were  but 
an  approach  to  the  truth,  as  manifested  in  Christ.  "  God  who  at 
sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  spake  in  time  past  unto 
the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto 
us  by  his  Son — the  brightness  of  his  glory  and  the  express  image 
of  his  person"  (Heb.  i.  1-3).  All  before  was  relative  only; 
here  we  have  God  absolutely  *'  manifest  in  the  flesh."  Christ  is 
the  only  absolute  Prophet,  (Deut.  xviii.  18,  19.  Actsiii.  22,  23.) 
as  he  is  the  only  absolute  Priest  (Ileb.  viii.  4,  5).  The  relation 
of  God  to  the  patriarchs  and  saints  generally  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, was  something  that  came  short  wholly  of  the  relation  in 
which  he  now  stands  to  his  people,  as  the  God  and  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Their  spiritual  life,  their  union  with 
God,  their  covenant  privileges,  all  had  an  unreal,  unsubstantial 
character,  as  compared  with  the  parallel  grace  of  the  gospel,  and 
constituted  at  best  but  an  approximation  to  this  grace,  rather 
than  the  actual  presence  of  it  in  any  sense  itself*  That  which 
forms  the  full  reality  of  religion,  the  union  of  the  divine  nature 
with  the  human,  the  revelation  of  God  in  man  and  not  simply  to 
him,  was  wanting  to  the  Old  Testament  altogether.  Of  course 
all  its  doctrines  and  institutions,  all  its  prerogatives  and  powers, 
had  a  shadowy,  simply  prophetic  nature,  to  the  same  extent.  Its 
sacraments  were  types  only,  not  counterparts  of  the  sacraments 
of  the  New  Testament.  Its  salvation  was  in  the  form  of  promise, 
more  than  present  fact.  It  became  real  ultimately,  only  in  Christ; 
for  before  his  appearance,  we  are  told  the  patriarchs  of  the  law 
could  not  be  made  perfect  (Heb.  xi.  J 3,  39,  40).  The  dispen- 
sation of  the  Spirit  has  its  origin  wholly  in  the  person  of  Christ, 
(Luke  i.  35,  iii.  22.  John  iii.  34,)  and  could  not  reveal  itself  in 
the  world  till  he  was  glorified  (John  vii.  39). 

The  great  argument  for  the  truth  of  Christianity,  is  the  person 
of  Jesus  himself,  as  exhibited  to  us  in  the  faith  of  the  Church. 

*  "  Christianity  is  nothing,  if  it  be  not  the  actualization  and  substantiation 
of  a  union,  which  was  before,  to  a  great  extent,  prophetical  and  ideal."  F. 
D.  Maurice. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  209 

The  incarnation  is  tlie  fact  of  all  facts,  that  rnay  be  said  itself 
to  authenticate  all  truth  in  the  world  besides.  The  first  miracle, 
and  the  only  miracle,  we  may  say,  of  Christianity,  is  the  new- 
creation  in  which  it  starts.  All  else  is  but  the  natural  product  and 
expression  of  the  life,  thus  introduced  into  the  world.  Nothing 
50  natural,  as  the  supernatural  itself  in  the  Saviour's  person. 
Jesus  Christ  authenticates  himself.  All  foreign,  external  cre- 
dentials here,  can  have,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  only  a 
subordinate  and  secondary  value.  He  is  himself  the  principle 
and  ground,  the  alpha  and  omega  of  all  truth. 


18^ 


210  THE  -^lYSTICAL   PRESENCE. 


SECTION  III. 


THE    SECOND    ADAM. 


Christ  is  the  principle  of  a  new  creation.  To  be  so  in  truth, 
he  must  be  incorporated,  under  this  character,  with  the  inmost 
life  of  humanity.  For,  as  we  have  seen,  the  world  centres  in 
man;  and  out  to  its  extreme  physical  circumference,  all  takes  its 
form  and  complexion  from  the  nature  which  thus  constitutes  its 
living,  spiritual  heart.  To  descend  into  the  world  at  all  then,  so 
as  to  become  united  to  its  constitution  as  a  principle  of  organic 
renovation,  it  was  necessary  that  the  Word  should  become 
Jiesh.  The  new  creation  reveals  itself  in  man.  Christ  is  the 
second  Adam. 

His  manhood  was  real.  The  incarnation  was  no  mere  the- 
ophany;  no  transient  wonder  ;  no  illusion  exhibited  to  the  senses. 
"  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  became  man,  by  taking  to  himself  a 
true  body  and  a  reasonable  soul,  being  conceived  by  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  of  her  sub- 
stance, and  born  of  her,  yet  without  sin."  John  makes  it  the 
mark  of  Antichrist  to  call  this  in  question,  (i  John  iv.' 1-3.  2 
John  7.)  The  nature  which  he  took  upon  him  was  truly  and 
fully  the  nature  of  Adam  ;  and  it  was  not  joined  to  him  in  the 
way  of  an  outward  accident  or  appendage  merely.  The  union 
was  inward  and  complete;  two  natures,  but  one  single  undi- 
vided person. 

Christ,  however,  was  not  simply  a  descendant  of  Adam,  and  a 
brother  thus  of  the  human  family,  as  standing  in  the  same  rela- 
tion. To  his  natural  birth  must  be  joined  his  supernatural  con- 
ception. He  took  our  nature  upon  him;  but,  in  doing  so,  he 
raised  it  into  a  higher  sphere,  by  uniting  it  with,  the  nature  of 
God,  and  became  thus  the  root  of  a  new  life  for  the  race.  His 
assumption  of  humanity  was  something  general,  and  not  merely 
particular.*  The  Word  became  flesh ;  not  a  single  man  only, 
as  one  among  many;  but^t.s/*,  or  humanity  in  its  universal  con- 
ception.    How  else  could  he  be  the  principle  of  a  general  life^ 

*  "  The  justice  of  God  requires  that  the  same  human  nature  which  hath 
sinned,  should  likewise  make  satisfaction  for  sin."  Heidelberg  Catechism, 
Quest.  16.  To  be  valid  at  all,  the  redemption  must  go  as  deep  as  the  curse. 
But  tliis  last  attaches  to  our  nature  as  such.  INIeii  are  sinneis,  liecause  the 
general  life  of  humanity  has  become  corrupt.  Their  nature  then  must  be 
restored,  as  the  only  ground  on  which  it  is  possible  for  them  to  be  saved  indi- 
vidually.    This  is  done  in  Christ. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  211 

the  origin  of  a  new  order  of  existence  for  the  human  world  as 
such?  How  else  could  the  value  of  his  mediatorial  work  be  made 
over  to  us  in  a  real  way,  by  a  true  imputation,  and  not  a  legal 
fiction  only?  The  entire  scheme  of  the  Christian  salvation  re-)i 
quires  and  assumes  throughout,  this  view  of  the  incarnation  and 
no  other.  To  make  it  a  merely  individual  case,  a  fact  of  no 
wider  force  than  the  abstract  person  of  Jesus  himself,  thus  re- 
solving his  relationship  to  his  people  into  their  common  relation- 
ship to  Adam,  is  to  turn  all  at  last  into  an  unreal  theophany,  and 
thus  to  overthrow  the  doctrine  altogether.*  Christ  became  man, 
not  for  himself,  but  for  the  race;  that  he  miffht  take  our  burden 

1    •  •  • 

upon  him  as  his  own  ;  that  he  might  conquer  death  for  us  in  our 
room  and  right ;  that  he  might  lift  thus  our  fallen  nature, 
as  such,  into  everlasting  union  with  God.  He  gathered  hu- 
manity into  himself  as  a  whole,  and  was  constituted  thus  its  head 
and  sum,  [avaxF^axatiio'^i,^  TfCjv  Tidvtoov,)  in  a  more  full  and  compre- 
hensive sense  than  this  could  ever  be  said  of  Adam, 

Paul  in  particular  is  very  clear  and  very  strong,  in  the  repre- 
sentation of  this  federal  or  generic  character  on  the  part  of 
Christ.  He  makes  his  relation  to  the  human  race  parallel  in  full 
to  that  of  its  natural  head.  Adam  is  rvrtoj  too  ixin-ovloc^  (Rom.  v. 
14,)  and  Christ  is  6  t(5;i;»'^of 'A-6a^u,  (1  Cor.  xv.  45).  In  Rom.  v. 
12-19,  they  are  compared  together  at  length,  under  this  view. 
Adam  is  exhibited,  on  the  one  hand,  as  the  head  of  our  race  in 
its  fallen  character.  "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world, 
and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all 
have  sinned."  They  were  constituted  sinners  by  that  first  act  of 
disobedience  itself  They  sinned  in  Adam,  and  fell  with  him, 
in  his  first  transgression.  He  stood  in  the  case  as  their  federal 
head,  because  he  was  their  true  organic  head.  In  Adamo,  ac- 
cording to  the  just  affirmation  of  Augustine,  ow7Zcs  time  peccave- 
runt,  quando  in  ejus  natnra  adhuc  amncs,  ille  wins  fuerunt.     In 

*  "  If  Christ  were  only  a  man,  as  one  along  with  and  among  many  others, 
it  would  be  indeed  incomprehensible,  how  what  he  has  suffered  and  done 
could  be  of  any  essential  weight  for  mankind  in  general ;  he  couM  only  exert 
an  influence  by  his  doctrine  and  example.  But  he  is  to  be  viewed  in  fact, 
apart  from  his  divine  nature,  as  the  man,  that  is,  as  realizing  the  absolute  idea 
of  humanity,  and  thus  ca>-rying  it  in  himself  potentially  in  the  way  of  the 
spirit,  as  truly  as  Adam  did  in  a  corporeal  way.  This  character  of  Christ's 
human  nature  is  designated  in  divinity  by  the  term  ivipersonalitas  ;  and  we  find 
even  Philo,  with  an  inward  feeling  of  the  deep  truth,  describing  the  Logos  as 
tov  xat^  aXrj^eiav  av^^u>Ttov,  that  is  the  idea  of  man,  the  human  ideal.  In 
this  general  view,  the  Redeemer  bears  a  twofold  representative  character; 
first,  as  he  takes  the  place  of  sinful  men,  carrying  their  grief  in  his  grief,  as 
an  offering  for  the  sins  of  the  world  ;  and  then  again  as  fulfilling  absolute 
righteousness  and  holiness  In  himself,  so  that  the  believer  has  not  to  produce 
them  afterwards  anew,  but  receives  them  in  germ  along  with  the  Spirit  of 
Christ.  The  first  is  the  ohedientia  passiva  of  theology,  the  last  the  obedientia 
fictiva.'"     Olshausen  Comm.  in  Rom.  v.,  15. 


212  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

all  this,  the  apostle  tells  us,  he  was  the  "  figure  of  him  that  was 
to  come."  The  gift  of  life  by  Christ  is  in  certain  respects,  in- 
deed, more  than  commensurate  with  the  death  and  condemna- 
tion introduced  by  Adam.  But  the  general  nature  of  the  relation 
in  the  two  cases,  is  the  same.  Christ  too  is  the  federal  head  and 
representative  of  humanity  as  a  whole.  "As  by  one  man's  dis- 
obedience many  were  made  sinners,  even  so  by  the  righteousness 
of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous."  Not  in  the  way  of  a 
mere  outward  imputation,  of  course,  in  the  last  case,  more  than 
in  the  first;  for  this  would  destroy  the  parallel ;  but  on  the  ground 
of  a  real  community  of  life.  As  the  world  fell  in  Adam  organi- 
cally, so  it  is  made  to  rise  in  Christ  in  the  same  way,  as  the 
principle  of  a  new  spiritual  life.  Strange,  that  any  who  hold  the 
Augustinian  view  of  Adam's  organic  union  with  his  posterity, 
as  the  only  basis  that  can  properly  support  the  doctrine  of  ori- 
ginal sin,  should  not  feel  the  necessity  of  a  like  organic  union 
with  Christ,  as  the  indispensable  condition  of  an  interest  in  his 
salvation.  Pelagianism,  which  sees  only  an  outward  connection 
between  the  first  man  and  his  posterity,  and  recognizes  in- the 
race  but  an  aggregation  of  single  and  separate  units,  mechani- 
cally brought  together,  may  consistently  join  hands  with  Ration- 
alism in  resolving  the  relation  of  Christ  to  his  Church,  also  into 
a  mere  moral  connection.  But  in  doing  so,  it  shows  itself  to  be 
just  as  superficial  and  false  in  the  one  case,  as  every  earnest  ob- 
server of  life  must  feel  it  to  be  in  the  other. 

The  same  parallel,  under  a  somewhat  different  reference,  is 
presented  to  us  again,  in  1  Cor.  xv.  21,  22,  45-49.  "  As  in 
Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive."  The 
reference  is  immediately  to  natural  death  and  the  resurrection 
of  the  body  ;  which,  however,  are  only  one  aspect  of  the  death 
and  life  contrasted  in  the  other  case.  "The  first  man  Adam 
was  made  a  living  soul;  the  last  Adam  a  quickening  spirit."  By 
our  natural  birth,  we  are  inserted  into  the  life  of  the  one;  our 
spiritual  birth  secures  us  a  like  insertion  into  the  life  of  the 
other.  In  both  cases,  the  connection  is  inward  and  real.  The 
root  of  righteousness  in  the  one  case,  corresponds  with  the  root 
of  sin  in  the  other.  The  mystery  of  Adam,  to  (juote  an  old 
Rabbinic  saying,  is  the  mystery  of  the  Messiah. 


BIRLTCAL    ARGUMENT. 


213 


SECTION  IV. 


CHRISTIANITY  A  LIFE. 


Christ  then  was  not  the  founder  simply  of  a  religious  school ; 
of  vastly  greater  eminence,  it  might  be,  than  Pythagoras,  Plato,  or 
Moses,  but  still  a  teacher  of  truth  only  in  the  same  general  sense. 
Christianity  is  not  a  Doctrine,  to  be  taught  or  learned  like  a 
system  of  philosophy  or  a  rule  of  moral  conduct.  Rationalism  is 
always  prone  to  look  upon  the  gospel  in  this  way.  As  Moses 
made  known  more  of  the  divine  will  than  the  world  had  under- 
stood before,  so  Christ  is  taken  to  be  only  a  greater  prophet  in 
the  same  form.  But  this  is  to  wrong  his  character  altogether. 
Judaism  was  indeed  only  an  advance  upon  previous  revelations; 
no  more  in  fact,  we  may  say,  than  a  vast  expansion  of  the  sys- 
tem of  truth  exhibited  through  the  medium  of  nature  itself  The 
order  of  revelation,  in  both  cases,  was  substantially  the  same.  It 
went  not  beyond  the  character  of  a  "  report,"  to  be  received  only 
by  "  the  hearing  of  the  ear."  The  revelation  was  always  relative 
only,  never  absolute.  It  came  not  in  any  case  to  a  full  mani- 
festation of  the  truth  in  its  own  form.  But  in  the  Church  of  the 
New  Testament,  all  is  different.  A  new  order  of  revelation  en- 
tirely bursts  upon  the  world,  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ.  He 
is  the  absolute  truth  itself,  personally  present  among  men,  and 
incorporating  itself  with  their  life.  He  is  the  substance,  where 
all  previous  prophecy,  even  in  its  highest  forms,  had  been  only 
as  sound  or  shadow. 

Unitarians  affect  to  make  much  of  Christ's  ho\y  Example,  He 
redeems  us  from  our  sins,  they  say,  partly  by  his  heavenly  in- 
structions, and  partly  by  exhibiting  himself  to  us  as  a  pattern  of 
piety,  in  his  life  and  death.  This,  however,  is  to  rob  him  still 
of  his  proper  glory.  It  is  to  fall  back  at  best  into  the  sphere  of 
Judaism.  Christianity  is  more  than  a  model  merely  of  goodness 
and  virtue,  though  allowed  to  be,  in  this  view,  of  the  most  per- 
fect construction,  nay,  the  very  mirror  of  the  divine  will  itself 

Nor  will  it  change  the  case  materially  to  make  the  gospel  an 
array  of  merely  outward  or  moral  power,  in  any  other  view. 
Many  who  count  themselves  orthodox,  it  is  to  be  feared,  come 
short  of  the  truth  here  altogether.  They  get  not  beyond  the 
old  Ebionitic  stand-point;  but  see  in  Christianity  always  an  ad- 
vance only  on  the  grace  of  the  Jewish  dispensation,  under  the 
same  form,  and   not  a   new  order  of  grace   entirely.     Greater 


214  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCi:. 

light,  enlarged  opportunities,  more  constraining  motives,  a  new 
supply  of  supernatural  aids  and  provisions;  these  are  taken  to 
be  the  peculiar  distinction  of  the  New  Covenant,  and  constitute 
its  supposed  superiority  over  the  Old.  But  is  not  this  to  resolve 
the  Christian  salvation  as  before,  into  a  merely  moral  institute 
or  discipline?  If  the  whole  evangelical  apparatus — including 
Christ's  priestly  work,  the  atonement,  his  intercession  in  hea- 
ven, and  the  gracious  influences  of  his  Spirit — be  regarded  as 
an  outward  apparatus  simply,  through  the  force  of  which  as 
lying  beyond  himself  the  sinner  is  to  be  formed  to  righteousness, 
the  case  is  only  parallel  at  best  with  the  theory,  that  turns  the 
work  of  redemption  into  a  mere  doctrine  or  example.  We 
should  have  at  most,  in  this  view,  an  exaltation  only  of  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Jew.  Christ  would  be  to  us  of  the  same  order  witii 
Moses;  immeasurably  greater  of  course;  but  still  a  prophet  only 
in  the  same  sense. 

In  opposition  to  all  this,  we  say  of  Christianity  that  it  is  a 
Life.  Not  a  rule  or  mode  of  life  simply;  not  something  that 
in  its  own  nature  requires  to  be  reduced  to  practice;  for  that  is 
the  character  of  all  morality.  But  life  in  its  very  nature  and 
constitution,  and  as  such  the  actual  substance  of  truth  itself. 
This  is  its  grand  distinction.  Here  it  is  broadly  separated  from 
all  other  forms  of  religion,  that  ever  have  claimed,  or  ever  can 
claim,  the  attention  of  the  world.  "  The  law  came  by  Moses, 
but  GRACE  and  truth  by  Jesus  Christ." 

Such  is  the  view  presented  to  us  in  the  beginning  of" his  gos- 
pel, by  the  evangelist  John.  The  Word,  that  existed  eternally 
with  the  Father,  that  created  the  world,  that  had  illuminated  all 
the  prophets — drawing  always  nearer  to  men  as  the  fulness  of 
time  approached  for  this  last  revelation — now  at  length,  in  the 
person  of  Jesus,  became  flesh  (John  i.  1-18).  He  that 
spake  to  men  mediately  before,  as  from  a  distance,  by  the 
prophets,  now  spake  to  them  immediately,  and  as  it  were  face 
to  face,  by  his  Son  (Heb.  i.  1,  2).  "  In  him  was  life,"  not 
relatively,  but  absolutely.  It  dwelt  in  him  as  an  original  and 
independent  fountain,  (John  v.  26).  "  And  the  life  was  the 
light  of  men."  In  this  character,  it  had  revealed  itself  indi- 
rectly, in  the  human  consciousness  as  such,  and  by  means  of 
partial  and  relative  representations  of  truth  from  without,  since 
the  beginning  of  the  world.  The  light  shined,  however,  in  dark- 
ness, (the  result  of  sin,)  and  the  darkness  comprehended  it  not. 
All  this  was  preparatory  only  for  the  mystery  of  the  incarnation; 
pointing  towards  it,  and  showing  its  necessity.  Here,  in  the 
end,  the  self-subsisting  life  itself  enters  into  the  sphere  of  hu- 
manity. The  cry  of  ages,  •*  O  that  thou  wouldest  rend  the  hea- 
vens, that  thou  wouldest  come  down,  that  the  mountains  might 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  215 

flow  down  at  thy  presence,"  is  met  with  a  full,  all-satisfying 
response.  The  heavens  do  bow.  The  everlasting  doors  fly 
open.  The  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  man,  as  never  before. 
Humanity  itself  has  become  the  Shechinah  of  glory,  in  the  per- 
son of  Immanuel.  The  Truth,  in  its  absolute  substance,  stands 
revealed  and  accessible.to  all  men,  in  the  incarnate  Word.  "  We 
have  seen  his  glory,"  says  the  apostle,  "  the  glory  as  of  the  Only 
Begotten  of  the  Father."  The  revelation  is  real,  commensurate 
with  the  nature  of  Truth  itself.  "  No  man  hath  seen  God  at 
any  time;  the  Only  Begotten  Son,  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Father,  he  hath  declared  him"  (John  i.  18).  All  former  reve- 
lations, as  relative  only  and  remote,  are  here  overwhelmed  by 
the  presence  of  that  "True  Light"  itself,  of  which  they  were  but 
broken  and  scattered  rays.  "  He  that  hath  seen  me,"  says  Christ 
himself,  "hath  seen  the  Father"  (John  xiv.  9).  What  an  infi- 
nite contrast  this,  with  the  idea  of  a  mere  teacher,  or  prophet  in 
the  common  sense.  Only  think  of  such  language  from  the  lips 
of  Moses!  "The  life  was  manifested,"  says  John,  "and  we 
have  seen  it,  and  bear  witness,  and  show  unto  you  that  eternal 
life,  which  was  with  the  Father,  and  was  manifested  unto  us" 
(I  John  i.  1,2). 

Christ  does  not  exhibit  himself  accordingly  as  the  medium 
only,  by  which  the  truth  is  brought  nigh  to  men.  He  claims 
always  to  be  himself,  all  that  the  idea  of  salvation  claims.  He 
does  not  simply  point  men  to  heaven.  He  does  not  merely 
profess  to  give  right  instruction.  He  does  not  present  to  them 
only  the  promise  of  life,  as  secure  to  them  from  God  on  certain 
conditions.  But  he  says,  "  I  am  the  Way,  and  the  Truth,  and 
the  Life;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me"  (John 
xiv.  6).  Men  are  brought  to  God,  not  by  doctrine  or  example, 
but  only  jby  being  made  to  participate  in  the  divine  nature  itself; 
and  this  participation  is  made  possible  to  us  only  through  the 
person  of  Christ ;  who  is  therefore  the  very  substance  of  our 
salvation,  as  here  afl[irmed.  "  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life, 
and  this  life  is  in  his  Son.  He  that  hath  tlie  Son,  hath  life ;  and 
he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God,  hath  not  life"  (1  John  v.  11,  12). 
"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  heareth  my  word,  and 
believeth  on  Him  that  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall 
not  come  into  condemnation ;  but  is  passed  from  death  unto 
life!"  (John  v.  24).  Here  again  we  have  the  idea  of  ?i  present 
salvation,  not  in  the  way  of  promise  and  hope  only,  but  in  the 
form  of  actual  possession.  The  believer  hath  everlasting  life. 
Already,  f.iiT!a^£^r^xn'  Ix  'tov  ^amrov  a?  -trv  ^wv.  It  has  been  made 
a  subject  of  controversy,  whether  the  whole  passage  (John  v. 
19 — 30).  from  which  this  declaration  is  taken,  refers  to  the  spi- 
ritual or  to  the  bodily  resurrection.     Clearly,  however,  it  refers 


21G  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

to  both ;  and  in  this  way  serves  to  bring  into  view  the  relation 
in  which  the  one  stands  to  the  other.  The  spiritual  resurrection 
includes  in  the  end  the  resurrection  of  the  body.  It  is  all,  we 
may  say,  but  a  single  process,  reaching  from  the  point  of  the 
new  birth  onward  to  the  full  restoration  of  the  whole  man  at  the 
day  of  judgment.  As  such,  it  constitutes  the  true  idea  of  ever- 
lasting life:  which  of  course,  then,  must  be  lodged  in  the  be- 
liever's person  here,  as  an  organic  principle  and  incipient  de- 
velopment, if  it  is  to  unfold  itself  in  the  complete  glory  of 
heaven  hereafter.  The  ground  of  this  life  is  wholly  in  Christ. 
He  came  not  to  tell  men  of  it,  but  to  reveal  it  in  his  own  person 
for  their  use.  To  believe  on  him,  is  to  be  brought  into  sub- 
stantial communication  with  what  he  is  in  this  form.  It  is  to 
pass  from  death  to  life.  Of  such  an  one  it  is  said,  "  He  shall 
never  see  death"  (John  viii.  51).  The  new  life  of  which  he  is 
the  subject  in  his  union  with  Christ,  and  which  now  forms  his 
central  being,  cannot  perish.  It  is  everlasting  and  indestructible 
in  its  very  nature.  When  the  man  dies,  his  true  life  thus  rooted 
in  Christ,  surmounts  the  catastrophe,  and  in  due  time  displays 
its  triumph  in  the  glories  of  the  resurrection. 

"  I  AM  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life !  He  that  believeth  in 
me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live.  And  whosoever 
liveth  and  believeth  in  me,  shall  never  die."  (John  II :  25,  26). 
The  resurrection  and  life  here  named,  are  only  different  aspects 
of  the  same  idea.  The  first  is  the  form  simply  in  which  the  last 
reveals  itself,  in  its  victorious  struggle  with  death.  Both  reveal 
themselves  together  in  Christ.  It  is  in  him  personally,  as  the 
bearer  of  our  fallen  humanity,  that  death  is  swallowed  up  in  vic- 
tory, by  the  power  of  that  divine  life  of  which  he  was  the  incar- 
nation. From  him,  the  same  life  flows  over  to  his  people,  in  the 
way  of  real  communication.  He  does  not  merely  preach  the 
resurrection.  It  is  comprehended  in  his  person.  He  hath  in 
himself  abolished  death,  and  thus  brought  life  and  immortality 
to"  light  through  the  gospel.  (2  Tim.  i.  10.)  The  revelation 
does  not  consist  in  this,  that  he  has  removed  all  doubt  from  the 
doctrine  of  a  future  state,  and  made  it  certain  that  men  will  live 
hereafter.  It  is  not  the  doctrine,  but  the  fact  itself,  that  is 
brought  to  light.  Immortality,  in  its  true  sense,  has  been  intro- 
duced into  the  world  only  by  Christ. 

Christ  leads  the  way  to  his  people,  in  the  triumph  of  the  re- 
surrection. He  is  the  captain  (u  a^^>?y60  of  the  Christian  salva- 
tion (Heb.  ii.  10.  xii.  2.)  by  whom  God  conducts  many  sons  to 
glory.  He  is  the  Jirst-fruits  of  the  resurrection,  {ana^xn  ■^^v 
xsxoLixtjixivuv,  1  Cor.  XV.  21,  23);  the  first-born  among  many 
brethren  (Rom.  viii.  29),  to  whose  image  all  must  be  conformed  ; 
the  beginning,  the  first-born  from  the  dead  (6j  iotiva^xn^  Tt^wT-otoxo; 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT. 


217 


ixtujvvsx^ujv,i'payivt^tativ7taaivait6i7i^(-i'tsvuv.  Col.  i.  18).     Super- 
ficially considered,  this    representation    might  seem   to  imply, 
according  to  the  old  Arian  hypothesis,  that  the  relation  of  Christ 
to  his  people  in  the  way  of  salvation  is  one  of  mere  precedence 
in  time  only,  constituting  him  at  best  the  great  pioneer  and  pat- 
tern simply,  whom  others  are  called  to  follow  through  death  and 
the  resurrection  into  eternal  life.     But  the  representation  carries 
evidently  a  far  deeper  sense.     The  captain  here,  is  the  author 
also  and  finisher  of  the  Christian  faith.     The  first  fruits  are  the 
life  and  power  of  the  harvest  itself,  that  follows  in  their  train. 
In  the  first-born  of  the   Church,  Christ  is  at  the  same  time  the 
fountain  of  the  entire  new  order  of  existence  which  it  compre- 
hends.    This  is  very  plain  from  the  passage  in  Colossians.     la^ 
the   first   place   the  apostle   styles   him  eLxd>v  rov  ^sov  tov  do^arov, 
Ti^atotoxoi  Tidar^i  xti6su>i\  not  to  place  him  in  the  same  order  with 
the  creation,  as  the  eldest  product  merely  of  God's  power ;  but 
because  eV  oi-r-w  ixtic^fj  to.  TtaVra,  the  whole  creation  sprang  from 
him  as  the  everlasting  Word,  in  whom  all  was  originally  com- 
prehended (John  i.  3;  Heb.  i.  2),  and  by  whom  still  all  things 
consist  {'tii.  7idvr<x  h  avtCj  ovviatrixi.  Col.  i.  17).*     And  parallel  ex- 
actly with  this  relation  to  the  natural  creation,  only  in  a  far 
higher  order  of  life,  the  apostle  now  declares  his  relation  to  be 
also  to  the  supernatural  constitution  revealed   in   the  Church. 
The  creation  itself  becomes  complete  only  in  the   Church,  the 
life  of  nature  in  the  life  of  the  Spirit ;  as  the  principle  of  the 
first  then,  it  was  necessary  that  the  Logos  should  be  the  princi- 
ple also  of  the  second,  through  its  relation  to  which  alone,  as 
shadow,  apparatus  and  prophecy,  the  first  can  be  said  to  have 
any  proper  significance  or  reality.     He  is  head  over  all  things 
to  the  Cliurcli  (Eph.  i.  22).     As  the  -Church  is  the  crown  and 
complement  of  the  whole  world,  so  he  from  whom  the  world 
proceeds  reveals  his  inmost  life  in  the  same  as  his  proper  body, 
the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all ;  and  so  he  is  "  the  be- 
ginning, the  first-born  from  the  dead,"  not  only  the  point  from 
which  the  new  creation  starts,  but  the  principle  also  out  of  which 
all  is  derived ;  "  that  in  all  things  he  might  have  the  pre-emi- 
nence (lVo.  ysvt^tai  iv  Ttdaiv  aifoj  rt^corfvwi/.)"     He  is  .the  first-bom 
of  the  dead  then,  in  a  sense  correspondent  with  that  in  which  he 
is  the  first-born  of  the  creation ;  because  the  resurrection,  that 
is  the  entire  life  of  the  Church,  flows  forth  from  his  person,  and 
has  its  reality  in  him  only,  {h  avr-w,)  to  the  end.     He  is  not  in 

*  Non  ideo  tantum  primogenitus,  quod  tempore  praBcesserit  omnes  crea- 
luras,  sed  quia  in  hoc  a  Patre  sit  genitus,  ut  per  ipsum  conderentur;  sitque 
veluti  hypostasis,  aut  fundamentum  omnium.  Calvin  in  loc.  So  he  is  the 
de,X^  of  the  second  or  new  creation,  it  is  said  afterwards,  as  the  resurrection 
commencing  in  his  person  is  rerum  omnium  instauratio. 

19 


218  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

the  creation  however,  as  lie  is  in  tlie  Church;  it  forms  at  best 
but  a  relative  revelation  of  life;  whereas  in  this  last  the  absolute 
life  which  he  has  in  himself  (tv  av-tou)  ^oirjrv,  John  i.  4.  v.  26),  is 
made  to  reach  forth  into  the  world  in  a  real  way  (rj^i^r;  i^ave^iL^r;, 
1  John  i.  2).  Thus  *'  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  should 
all  fulness  {rtav  rb  Ttxr^cofxa)  dwell ;  and  having  made  peace 
through  the  blood  of  his  cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things 
unto  himself,"  (Col.  i.  19,  20),  The  divine  reconciliation 
(xaT'a7J^ayr;)  is  accomplished  for  all  in  his  person,  (ev  tqxsutfiati,  r^j 
oa^xbg  aitov  dia  rov  ^avoLtov,)  by  the  blood  of  his  cross;  and  be- 
comes available  only  h  axtu,  as  the  life  in  which  it  is  compre- 
Iiended  is  carried  over  to  others,  and  made  to  include  them  as 
tl]e  power  of  a  new  creation  in  the  Church. 
f  Christianity  then  is  a  Life,  not  only  as  revealed  at  first  in 
•  Christ,  but  as  continued  also  in  the  Church.  It  flows  over  from 
Christ  to  his  people,  always  in  this  form.  They  do  not  simply 
bear  his  name,  and  acknowledge  his  doctrine.  They  are  so 
united  with  him  as  to  have  part  in  the  substance  of  his  life  itself. 
Their  conversion  is  a  new  birth;  "not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will 
of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God"  (John  i.  12, 
13).  "That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh,  is  flesh."  As  such,  it 
can  never  rise  above  its  own  nature.  No  cultivation,  no  out- 
ward aid,  no  simply  moral  appliances,  can  ever  lift  it  into  a 
higher  sphere.  This  requires  a  new  life.  "  That  which  is  born 
of  the  Spirit,  is  spirit ;"  all  else  necessarily  comes  short  of  the 
distinction.  All  else  accordingly  is  something  lower  than 
Christianity  (John  iii.  1-8). 

Paul  is  full  of  the  same  general  view.  Religion  is  always 
with  him,  as  it  holds  under  the  gospel,  a  divine  lite;  not  simply 
the  ordinary  moral  life  regulated  by  a  divine  rule,  but  the  pro- 
duct truly  and  wholly  of  a  new  element  or  principle,  carried  over 
into  the  soul  from  Christ,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  If 
any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature  ixaiprj  xtiaii) ;  old 
things  are  passed  away;  behold  all  things  are  become  new"  (2 
Cor  v.  17).  The  doctrine  of  free  justification  is  vindicated  from 
the  objection  of  being  favourable  to  sin,  (Rom.  ch.  GS,)  on  the 
ground  that  it  involves  an  organic  change  in  the  subject,  the 
])resence  of  a  new  order  of  existence,  which  carries  the  guaranty 
of  holiness,  so  far  as  it  prevails,  in  its  own  constitution.  "  How 
shall  we  that  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein?"  Bap- 
tism into  Christ  is  baptism  into  his  death,  and  so  at  the  same 
time  into  his  resurrection — the  translation  of  the  subject  out  of 
the  sphere  of  the  flesh  into  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit  (Rom.  vi. 
1-7).  Under  the  law,  (chap,  vii.)  righteousness  is  impossible. 
But,  thanks  be  to  Ood,  "  there  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them 
which  are  in  Christ  .lesu.s."     They  are  made  "  free  from  the  law 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT. 


219 


of  sin  and  death"  by  the  "  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life"  revealed 
through  his  person.  Thus  what  was  impossible  for  the  law, 
"  througli  the  weakness  of  the  flesh,"  is  accomplished  by  the 
grace  that  unites  us  with  the  life  of  Jesus."  "The  righteousness 
of  the  law  is  fulfilled  in  us" — not  forensically  merely  in  the  way 
of  imputation,  but  as  the  power  of  a  new  life  also  in  our  own 
nature — "  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit" 
(Rom.  viii.  1-4).  Christians  are  "  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the 
Spirit" — the  new  life  sphere  revealed  in  Christ.  The  resurrec- 
tion power  of  Jesus  dwells  in  them,  at  once  the  principle  and 
pledge  of  a  salvation,  that  will  not  rest  till  in  their  case  too  it 
shall  have  quickened  the  whole  man  into  life  and  immortality 
(Rom.  viii.  9-11). 

Christ  is  the  substance,  and  not  merely  the  source,  of  this 
salvation.  So  completely  indeed  is  this  view  interwoven  with 
the  whole  style  of  thinking  in  the  New  Testament,  that  we  often 
fail  for  this  very  reason  to  notice  the  extent  to  which  it  is  car- 
ried. But  only  think  of  the  like  representations  being  employed 
with  regard  to  Moses,  the  great  apostle  of  the  old  dispensation. 
Let  him  be  exhibited  as  "  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power  of 
God"  (1  Cor.  i.  24) ;  "  made  of  God  unto  us  wisdom,  righteous- 
ness, sanctification,  and  redemption"  (I  Cor.  i.  30) ;  the  sub- 
stance of  truth  and  life,  in  whom  all  God's  promises  are  yea  and 
amen  (2  Cor.  i.  20)  ;  the  counterpart  of  the  light  that  ''  shined 
out  of  darkness  in  the  beginning,"  by  which  the  true  knowledge 
of  the  glory  of  God  is  now  revealed  in  the  souls  of  men  (2  Cor. 
V.  4,  6)  ;  the  absolute  principle  of  unity  for  the  world,  more  deep 
and  comprehensive  than  all  forms  of  existence  besides  (Gal.  iii. 
27,  2S;  v.  15.  Eph.  ii.  13—22;  iv.  14—16.  Colos.  i.  20;  iii. 
10,  11).  Let  these,  and  other  representations  of  parallel  import, 
which  are  of  such  familiar  character  as  applied  to  Christ,  be 
transferred  in  imagination  to  Moses,  or  any  other  ancient  man 
of  God,  and  the  full  weight  of  the  difference  that  holds  between 
him  and  all  other  prophets,  must  at  once  make  itself  felt. 

"  1  am  crucified  with  Christ,"  says  Paul ;  "  nevertheless  I  live  ; 
^yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me ;  and  the  life  which  I  now  live 
in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me 
and  gave  himself  for  me"  (Gal.  ii.  20).  The  process  of  the  new 
creation  in  the  believer  finds  its  proper  analogy,  only  in  the  all 
victorious  resurrection  of  the  Saviour  himself — of  which  ijideed 
it  is  but  the  organic  continuation  in  the  Church  (Eph.  i.  18 — 23; 
ii.  1 — 7).  We  are  God's  workmanship,  "  created  in  Christ  Jesus 
unto  good  works"  (Eph.  ii.  10).  All  Christianity  is  compre- 
hended in  a  living  apprehension  of  Christ,  in  "  the  power  of  his 
resurrection  and  fellowshij)  of  his  sufferings,"  in  comparison  with 
which  every  moral  advantage  is  to  be  held  of  no  account  (Philip. 


2:20  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

iii.  7 — 11).  "  Ye  are  dead,"  the  apostle  says,  "  and  your  life  is 
liid  with  Christ  in  God.  When  Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall 
appear,  then  shall  ve  also  appear  with  him  in  glory"  (Col.  iii. 
3—4.) 

The  whole  morality  of  the  gospel  is  made  to  root  itself  in  the 
presence  and  power  of  the  new  life,  thus  derived  from  Christ. 
This  forms  its  grand  characteristic  distinction,  as  compared 
with  the  so  called  virtue  of  the  common  world.  All  duties  are 
enforced,  on  the  ground  of  what  the  christian  has  become  by 
his  heavenly  birth,  as  the  subject  of  the  christian  salvation.  All 
relations  hold  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  motives  to  every  virtue  are 
drawn  from  the  grace  of  the  gospel  itself,  as  already  constituting 
the  actual  state  of  those  on  whom  they  are  urged.  The  virtues 
are  all  fruits  of  the  Spirit ;  which  in  this  case  serves  only  to 
express  that  higher  order  of  life,  (in  contrast  with  ihejlrsh,)  into 
which  believers  are  raised  by  their  union  with  Christ.  All  mo- 
rality is  comprehended  in  the  rule,  "  Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  ye 
shall  not  fulfil  the  lust  of  the  flesh"  (Gal.  v.  16).  It  is  as  the 
dear  children  of  God,  already  quickened  into  life  and  sealed 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  that  believers  are  urged  to  put 
off  the  old  man,  which  is  corrupt  according  to  the  deceitful  lusts, 
and  to  put  on  continually  more  and  more  the  new  man,  which 
after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness  (Eph.  i. 
13,  14;  ii.  1—6;  iv.  1,  17— 32 ;  v.  1—33;  vi.  1— 9.  Col.  chap, 
iii.,  iv.  1  Thess.  ii.  12;  iv.  1—12;  v.  4—23.  Tit.  ii.  9—14. 
1  Pet.  i.  13 — 23;  ii,  1 — 3,  9 — 12).  **  Ye  were  sometimes  dark- 
ness, but  now  are  ye  light  in  the  Lord  ;  walk  as  children  of 
light"  (Eph.  V.  8).  "Put  on  as  the  elect  of  God,  holy  and  be- 
loved, bowels  of  mercies,  kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,  meek- 
ness, long-suffering"  (Col.  iii.  12).  "  If  ye  be  risen  with  Christ, 
seek  those  things  which  are  above"  (Col.  iii.  1).  "  Every  man 
that  hath  this  hope  in  him,  purifieth  himself  even  as  he  is  pure" 
(I  John  iii.  3).  Such  is  the  tenor  throughout  of  the  Christian 
morality.  Its  superiority  to  other  ethical  systems  does  not  con- 
sist, in  its  being  simply  a  more  full  and  accurate  statement  of 
the  duties  God  requires  of  man,  than  can  be  found  elsewhere  ;| 
but  in  this  rather,  that  it  reveals  the  true  ground  of  all  moral 
relations  in  Christ,  and  refers  every  duty  in  this  way  to  a  prin- 
ciple, which  it  could  not  have  in  any  other  form,  and  which 
infuses  into  it  accordingly  a  new  character  altogether.  The 
whole  structure  of  life,  ethically  viewed,  becomes  a  new  creation 
in  Christ  Jesus. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  '2'2i 


SECTION  V. 


THE    MYSTICAL    UNION. 


Christ  is  tLe  principle  of  the  whole  Christian  salvation.  From 
him  it  flows  over,  as  the  power  of  a  divine  life,  into  the  persons 
of  his  people.  This  implies  of  course  the  most  close  and  inti- 
mate connection.^  The  union  however  which  exists  in  this  case, 
is  more  than  that  of  simple  derivation.  Here  the  parallel  of  tiie 
first  Adam  fails  to  represent  fully  the  mystery  of  the  second. 
The  order  of  existence  in  the  one  case  transcends  immeasurably 
the  order  of  existence  in  the  other.  The  first  man  was  made 
6CJ  ■^'vxyiv  ^waav  (1  Cor.  xv.  45.  Gen.  ii.  7).  His  life  was  relative 
only,  and  as  such  creaturely,  comprehended  in  some  sense  in 
the  constitution  of  mere  nature.  Adam  lived  ;  but  he  could  not 
be  said  to  "  have  life  in  himself,"  as  this  is  said  of  Christ  (John 
V.  26).  The  second  man  in  thi5  view  was  made  sl^  7tv£vi.ia  ^wortotir, 
"  a  QUICKENING  SpiRiT."  To  the  conniion  human  nature  is 
superadded,  in  his  case,  a  higher  divine  life;  which  with  its  all 
vivifying  power  quickens  this  nature  into  its  own  order  of  exist- 
ence, (xa-ra  6vm,utj;  ^w;;?  dxarai^.iT'oD,  Heb.  vii.  16),  first  in  himself 
and  then  in  his  people.  "  Longe  est  majus,"  says  Calvin  in  loco, 
'*  esse  vitam  aut  vitae  causam,  quam  vivere."  Christ  has  life  in 
himself  absolutely;  and  it  is  under  this  substantial  form,  it  is 
made  to  reach  over  from  him  to  the  Church.  As  such,  how- 
ever, of  course,  it  can  never  be  separated  from  his  person  ;  like 
the  life  of  Adam,  carried  forward  by  natural  generation  in  his 
posterity.  The  stream  here  may  never  pass  away  from  the  spi- 
ritual Rock,  out  of  which  it  gushes  in  the  beginning  (1  Cor.  x. 
4).  The  new  life  of  the  believer  is  absolute  too;  as  real,  in  dis- 
tinction from  all  mere  creaturely  existence,  as  the  life  of  Christ 
itself;  but  on  this  very  account,  it  cannot  be  separated  for  a 
moment  from  its  original  ground.  "  Because  I  live" — and  only 
for  this  reason — "ye  shall  live  also"  (John.  xiv.  19).  Christ 
lives  in  his  people  to  the  end  of  time,  not  simply  as  a  natural 
organic  root,  but  as  a  "quickening  spirit."  He  is  present  with 
them,  and  mystically  joined  to  them,  in  the  form  of  Life  ;  com- 
prehending of  course  the  most  perfect  personal  consciousness, 
and  freely  imparting  itself,  as  the  absolute  ground  of  all  true 
j)ersonality,  to  the  whole  body  of  which  he  is  the  Head. 

This  union  then   is  not  of  nature  as  such,  but  of  the  Spirit. 
We  shall  err  however  grievously,  if  we  conceive  of  the  Spirit  in 

19* 


223  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

this  case  as  something  separate  from  the  proper  presence  of 
Christ  himself,  or  as  forming  a  medium  of  communication  only 
for  the  divine  nature  of  Christ  with  the  soul  of  the  believer  ab- 
stractly considered.  Both  of  these  suppositions  stand  in  broad 
contradiction  to  the  Scriptures,  and  serve  equally  at  last  to 
reduce  the  doctrine  of  the  mystical  union  to  a  mere  figment,  by 
making  it  moral  only,  and  not  real. 

We  read  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  as  present  and  active  in  the 
world,  under  a  certain  form,  before  the  incarnation  of  Christ. 
But  we  must  not  confound  this  agency  with  the  relation,  in 
which  he  has  come  to  stand  to  the  Church  since,  in  consequence 
of  the  union  thus  established  between  the  divine  nature  and  our 
own.  It  is  by  the  incarnation  properly,  that  the  way  has  been 
opened  for  a  true  descent  of  the  Spirit  into  the  sphere  of  the  hu- 
man existence  as  such.  John  goes  so  far  as  to  say  there  was  no 
Holy  Spirit  (oirtw  yap  rv  rtv^vfia  aytoi/*),  till  Jcsus  was  glorified 
(John  vii.  39).  This  does  not  mean  of  course  that  he  did  not 
exist;  but  it  limits  the  proper  effusion  of  the  Spirit,  as  known 
under  the  New  Testament,  to  the  Christian  dispensation  as  such. 
It  teaches  besides,  that  the  person  of  Jesus,  as  the  Word  made 
fiesh,  forms  the  only  channel  or  m^edium,  by  which  it  was  possi- 
ble for  this  effusion  to  take  place.  The  Holy  Ghost  accordingly, 
as  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  is,  in  the  first  place,  active  simply  in  the 
Saviour  himself  In  this  view,  however,  he  cannot  be  separated 
from  the  person  of  Christ.  He  constitutes  rather  the  form,  in 
which  the  higher  nature  of  Christ  reveals  its  force.  In  the  end, 
the  whole  person  of  the  Son  of  Man  is  exalted  into  the  same 
order  of  existence.  Humanity  itself  in  tliis  way,  as  joined  with 
the  everlasting  Word,  is  made  to  triumph  over  the  law  of  infir- 
mity and  mortality,  to  which  it  was  previously  subject  in  its 
own  nature,  and  takes  henceforward  the  character  of  spirit,  in 
distinction  from  that  of  mere  flesh.  All  this  immediately,  as 
now  said,  only  in  the  person  of  Christ.  But  all,  at  the  same 
time,  in  Christ  as  the  second  Adam.  The  full  orlorification  of 
our  nature  as  thus  represented,  was  the  constitution  in  fact  of  a 
new  and  higher  order  of  life  in  the  world,  for  humanity  as  a 
whole.  With  the  final  triumph  of  the  Spirit  in  the  glorified  hu- 
manity of  Christ,  this  higher  order  of  life  began  to  reveal  itself 
with  power  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  (Acts  ii.  1 — 4) ;  since  which 
time,  it  has  continued  regularly  active  in  the  world  by  means  of 
the  Church  ;  which  is  itself  the  product  and  extension  in  this 
way  of  the  new  creation,  commencing  in  the  Saviour's  person. 

In  accordance  with  what  has  now  been  said,  we  find  the  per- 
son  of  Christ  exhibited   to    us   in    the   New  Testament   always 

*  The  addition  Ss8oixhoi,  is  acknowledged,  on  all  hands,  to  be  spurious. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  223 

under  a  Iwo-fold  aspect — though  it  remains  of  course  essentially 
the  same  in  its  constitution  throughout.     He  is  presented  to  our 
view,  first   under  a   mortal    form,  and  then  in   his  resurrection 
state.     In   taking  our   nature    upon  him,  he  was  made  in  all 
respects  like  as  we  are,  only  without  sin.    (Heb.  iv.  15.  v.  2,  7). 
He  appeared  "in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh"  (Rom.  viii.  3) ; 
"  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law"  (Gal.  iv.  4).     The 
humanity  which  he  assumed  was  fallen,  subject  to  infirmity,  and 
liable  to  death.     In  the  end,  "  he  was  crucified  through  weak- 
ness"    (2  Cor.  xiii.  4).     Under  all  this  low  estate  however,  the 
power  of  a  divine  life  was  always   actively  present,  wrestling  as 
it  were  with  the  law  of  death  it  was  called  to  conquer,  and  sure 
of  its  proper  victory  at  the  last.     This  victory  was  displayed  in 
the  resurrection.     It  was  not  possible  that  he  should  remain  in 
the   grave    (Acts    ii.  24).     ♦'  He  was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of 
God  with   power,   according  to  the  Spirit  of  holiness,   by  the 
resurrection  from   the  dead"     (Rom.  i.  4).     The  Spirit  of  holi- 
ness   here   (xara  Ttisvi^a  ttyicocfwVjjj)    stands    contrasted    with    the 
**  flesh,"  or  common  humanity,  according  to  which  (xata  cd^xa) 
he  was  of  the   seed   of  David   (v.    3),  and  as  such  capable  of 
death.    It  denotes  then  his  higher  nature,  in  the  power  of  which 
his  whole  person  was,  by  this  triumph,  raised  into  a  new  undy- 
ing slate,  and  clothed  with  the  attributes  and  prerogatives  of  a 
divine  existence.     In   Rom.  viii.  11,  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
is  inseparably  joined  with  the  third  person  of  the  ever  blessed  and 
glorious  Trinity,  as  one   and  the  same   life.     Whether  as  the 
Spirit  of  the   Father,   or   as  the  Spirit  of'Christ  himself,  his 
agency,  proceeding  as  it  does  from  both,  constitutes  the  form, 
in  which  the  new  creation   in  Christ  Jesus  is  carried  forward, 
first  in  his  own  person  and  subsequently  with  the  Church.    The 
resurrection  state  of  the  Saviour  then,  especially  as  made  com- 
plete at  his  ascension,  is  itself  spirit  (yti-Ev^a),  in  the  way  of  dis- 
tinction from  ihe  frsh  {oa^t)  or  common   mortal  state  in  which 
he  had  appeared   before.     The  two  states  are  set  in  close  con- 
trast,  1  Pet.  iii.  18,  where  it  is   said  :  "  Christ  also  hath  once 
suffered  for  sins,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  he   might  bring  us 
to  God,  being  put   to   death  in  the  flesh,  but   quickened  b?/  the 
Spirit,"  or  as  it   should   read  rather  i?i  the   Spi?'it   (pavatu^H^ 
fihv  oa^xl,  ^w7tot>7^ft$  5f  Ttvsv^any     "  Caro  hic  pro  externo  homine 
capitur,"  says  Calvin  ;  "  spiritus  pro  divina  potentia,  qua  Chris- 
tus  victor  a  morte  emersit."     The  victory  however  must  be  un- 
derstood to  extend  to  the  whole  man,  external  as  well  as  internal, 
transforming  the  very  flesh  itself  into  spirit.     It  is  the  full  tri- 
umph of  Christ's  higher  life  over  the  limitations  with   which 
it  had  been  called  to  struggle  in  its  union  with  our  fallen  hu- 
manity; by  which  this  hufnanity  itself  is   raised  into  the  sphere 


224  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

of  the  same  life,  and   completely  transfused  with   its  power,  in 
the   everlasting   glorification  of  the   Son  of  Man.     So,  1  Tim. 
iii.  16,  "  God  was   manifest   in  the  jlcsh'' — he  emptied  himself 
(fatfof  exiycocff,  Phil.   ii.  7),  took  upon  himself  the  form  of  a  ser- 
vant, was   made   in   the   likeness  of  men,  and  being   found  in 
fashion  as  a  man  humbled  himself,  and  became   obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross ;  but  it  is  added,  he  was  "  jus- 
tified  in   the   Spirit,"  the   power  of  that  higher   nature,  which 
wrought   with   supernatural   force  even   under   his   humiliation 
itself,  and  came  finally  to  its  full  and  proper  victory  in  his  resur- 
rection.*  His  true  character  came  thus  fully  into  view,  being  vin- 
dicated or  justified  by  this  triumphant  demonstration   itself;  as 
the  result  of  which  he  was  "  received  up  into  glory,"  and  is  set 
down  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  "  far  above  all  principality,  and 
power,  and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is  named, 
not  only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come"  (Eph. 
1.20,21.    Phil.  ii.  9  —  11.     Heb.   xii.  2).     The  somewhat  dif- 
ficult  passage,  Heb.    ix.  14,  seems  to   find  its   key,  in  the  same 
distinction  of  Christ's  glorified  state,  from  the  mere  mortal  con- 
dition with  which  it  had  been  preceded.     The  "  eternal  Spirit," 
(6ia  rtj/fVjua-r'o?  atWt'ov),  through  which  he  "  offered  himself  without 
.spot  to  God,"  must  be  understood  of  the  divine  order  of  exist- 
ence, to  which  his  whole  person  was   exalted  after  his  death,  as 
contrasted  with  the  dying  form  in  which  he  had  appeared  before. 
This  formed   itself  the   complete   triumph  of  the  Spirit,  in  his 
person,  over  all  that  was  contrary  to  its  own  nature  in  our  fallen 
jflesh ;  and  in  the  pewer  of  it,  he  presented  himself  before  God 
once  for  all,  an   offering  of  everlasting  value,  by  which  he  hath 
perfected  for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified.     (Heb.  ix.  11 — 14, 
24—28.  X.  10— 14).t 

Thus  made  perfect  in  the  Spirit — his  entire  person  raised 
above  the  power  of  death,  and  filled  at  every  point  with  the  im- 
mortality of  heaven  itself — the  blessed  Redeemer  "  became  the 
author  of  eternal  salvation  unto  all  them  that  obey  him."  His 
glorification  opened  the  way  for  the  free  outflowing  of  the  Spirit, 
the  same  divine  life  with  which  he  was  himself  filled,  on  the 
surrounding  world,  (John  vii.  38,  39).  "  Having  received  of  the 
Father,"  says  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  "  the  promise  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath  shed  forth  this,  which  ye  now  see  and 
hear"  (Acts  ii.  33).  He  became  for  others,  what  he  was  thus 
shown  to  be  within   himself,  7ivii-j.ia  (^uiorcoLovr  (I  Cor.  xv.  45),  a 

*  Spiritus  nomine  compreliendit  quicquid  in  Cliristo  diviniim  fiiit  ac  supra 
hominem.     Calvin,  in  loc. 

t  So  the  passa^ge  is  interpreted  by  Bleek,  in  liis  Commentary  on  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  1840  ;  in  point  of  learning  and  judgment,  the  highest  autho- 
rity in  this  form  that  could  be  produced. 


BIBLICAL   ARGUMENT.  225 

quickening  or  life-giving  sjDirit ;  from  whom  the  power  of  a  new 
creation  was  to  be  carried  forward  under  the  same  form,  in  the 
world,  by  the  Church,  even  as  the  fallen  life  of  the  first  Adam 
had  been  transmitted  in  the  course  of  nature  to  all  his  posterity* 
From  all  this  it  is  clear,  in  the  first  place,  that  we  have  no 
right  to  separate  Christ  frofri  his  Spirit,  in  such  a  way  as  to  sup- 
pose the  presence  of  the  one  where  the  other  was  not  present  at 
the  same  time.  *'  Christum  a  Spiritu  suo  qui  divellunt,  eum 
faciunt  mortuo  simulachro  vel  cadaveri  similem."*  Thus,  Rom. 
viii.  9 — 11,  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  and  the  indwelling  of 
Christ  in  believers,  are  exhibited  as  one  and  the  same  thing. 
And  so,  in  his  last  discourse  with  his  disciples,  our  Lord  him- 
self explicitly  identifies  with  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
promise  of  his  own  return.  The  coming  of  this  divine  Para- 
clete required  indeed,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  removal  of 
Christ  from  the  earth,  so  far  as  his  first  form  of  existence  (ipaa^xi) 
was  concerned.  He  must  be  glorified  to  make  room  for  the 
effusion  of  the  Spirit.  "  If  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will 
not  come"  (John  xvi.  7).  This  was  to  make  room  in  fact  how- 
ever, only  for  his  own  return  in  a  higher  form  of  existence.  ''  I 
will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Comforter, 
that  he  may  abide  with  you  for  ever ;  even  the  Spirit  of  Truth  ; 
whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth  him  not,  nei- 
ther knoweth  him  :  but  ye  know  him  ;  for  he  dwelleth  with  you, 
and  shall  be  in  you.  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless  (o^^avov^); 
I  WILL  COME  TO  YOu"  (Johu  xiv.  16 — 18,  22,  23).  The  best 
commentators  of  the  present  day,  Ohhouscn,  Tholurk,  Lucckc, 
&c.,  agree  with  Liithcr  and  Calvin,  that  the  coming  of  himself 
to  which  the  Saviour  here  refers,  is  to  be  understood  neither  of 
his  resurrection  simply  nor  of  his  second  visible  advent  at  the 
end  of  the  world  ;  but  of  his  presence  by  the  Spirit,  of  whose 
mission  he  had  just  spoken.  It  is  all  the  same  promise.  The 
persons  of  the  adorable  Trinity  are  indeed  distinct.  But  we 
must  beware  of  sundering  them  into  abstract  subsistences,  one 
without  the  other.  They  subsist  in  the  way  of  the  most  perfect 
mutual  inbeing  and  intercommunication.  The  Spirit  of  Christ 
is  not  his  representative  or  surrogate  simply,  as  some  would 
seem  to  think  ;  but  Christ  himself  under  a  certain  mode  of  sub- 
sistence ;  Christ  triumphant  over  all  the  limitations  of  his  moral 
state,  (Cwoniotj^^ftj  Tivccj-ia-ti),  "  received  up  into  glory,"  and  thus 
invested  fully  and  for  ever  with  his  own  proper  order  of  being 
in  the  sphere  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  this  form,  he  is  present 
with  the  Church  more  intimately  and  really  than  he  could  be  in 

*  Calvin,  on  Rom.  viii.,  9.     By  the  S[)irit  here,  he  says,  we  arc  to  under- 
stand, "  modus  habitationis  Christi  in  nobis." 


226  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

any  other.  ''  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them"  (Matt.  xvii.  20).  *'  Lo 
I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world"  (Matt. 
xxviii.  20). 

No  less  clear  is  it,  in  the  second  place,  that  the  higher  order 
of  existence  to  which  Christ  has  bein  advanced  in  the  Spirit, 
involves- his  humanity,  in  its  full  constitution  both  as  body  and 
soul,  and  is  made  to  flow  over  in  this  form  to  his  people.  It  was 
in  view  of  his  humanity  alone  indeed,  that  any  such  exaltation 
was  required.  The  divine  Logos,  as  such,  had  been  in  union 
with  the  Spirit  from  all  eternity.  But  in  becoming  flesh,  this 
higher  life  was  sunk  for  the  moment  into  the  limitations  of  the 
fallen  mortal  nature  with  which  it  became  thus  incorporated  ; 
not  of  course  for  its  own  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  lower  na- 
ture itself,  that  this  might  be  raised,  by  the  triumphant  power  of 
the  Spirit,  into  the  same  order  of  existence.  The  glorification 
of  Christ  then,  was  the  full  advancement  of  our  human  nature 
itself  to  the  power  of  a  divine  life;  and  the  Spirit  for  whose  pre- 
sence it  made  room  in  the  world,  was  not  the  Spirit  as  extra- 
anthropological  simply,  under  such  forms  of  sporadic  and  tran- 
sient afflatus  as  had  been  known  .previously  ;  but  the  Spirit  as 
immanent  now,  through  Jesus  Christ  in  the  human  nature  itself 
— the  form  and  power,  in  one  word,  of  the  new  supernatural 
creation  he  had  introduced  into  the  world.  He  shall  abide  with 
you,  says  the  Saviour,  forever,  (John  xiv.  16).  The  Spirit  then 
constitutes  the  form  of  Christ's  presence  and  activity  in  the 
Church,  and  the  medium  by  which  he  communicates  himself  to 
his  people.  But  as  such  he  is  the  compreliension  in  full  of  the 
blessed  Redeemer  himself;  and  the  life  he  reveals,  is  that  of  the 
entire  glorified  person  of  the  Son  of  Man,  in  which  humanity 
itself  has  become  quickened  into  full  correspondence  with  the 
vivific  principle  it  has  been  made  to  enshrine.* 

When  Paul  styles  Christ  a  quickening  or  life-giving  spirit, 
(1  Cor,  XV.  45,)  the  reference  is  not  at  all  to  his  nature  as  divine 
simply,  or  immaterial,  but  to  his  proper  manliood  as  such.  It  is 
the  resurrection  of  the  hod)/,  v/hich  he  has  immediately  in  view. 
"  As  in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.'' 
How?  By  virtue  of  a  new  divine  element,  introduced  into  our 
nature  by  the  incarnation,  which  has  already  triumphed  over 
mortality  in  the  person  of  the  second  Adam  himself,  and  by 
which  he  is  now  the  principle  of  the  resurrection,  [nrevfxa 
^loortoLovv ,)  for  the  body  as  well  as  for  the  soul,  to  all  that  believe 

Nota  unitntem  spiritualem  quae  nobis  cum  Christo  est,  non  animcB  tantum 
est,  sed  pertinere  ctiam  ad  corpus,  ut  caro  simus  de  carne  ejus,  &c.  Alioqui 
infirma  csset  spcs  resurrcctionis,  nisi  talis  csset  nostra  conjuuctio,  hoc  est, 
plena  et  solida.     Calvin,  in  1  Coi\  vi.,  15. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  227 

on  him  to  salvation.  "  There  is  a  natural  body,"  says  the  apostle, 
"  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body."  The  first  sf>rings  from*  Adam, 
tiie  second  from  Christ.  As  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the 
one,  in  our  fallen  mortal  state,  so  must  we  also  as  Christians  bear 
the  image  of  the  other.  This  will  be  fully  reached  in  the  resur- 
rection. Then  what  is  sown  at  death  in  corruption,  dishonour, 
weakness,  a  mere  natural  body,  [a^i^a  ^^v^i-xop,)  will  be  raised  in 
incorruption,  glory,  and  power,  a  spiritual  body  ((jt3jiia  Ttpsvfxatixovy 
This  corruptible  shall  put  on  incorruption  ;  this  mortal  shall  put 
on  immortality  ;  and  so  death  shall  be  swallowed  up  in  victory 
for  ever.  (1  Cor.  xv.  42-54.)  "He  shall  change  our  vile  body, 
that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body,  according 
to  the  working  whereby  he  is  able  even  to  subdue  all  things  unto 
himself"  (Phil.  iii.  21.  John  iii.  2).  Here  is  no  exclusion  of  the 
body  from  the  sphere  of  the  spirit,  as  being  in  itself  of  a  totally 
opposite  nature,  and  on  this  account  incapable  of  sharing  in  the 
same  life;  but  the  last  triumph  of  the  Spirit  is  made  to  consist 
precisely,  in  the  full  transfiguration  of  the  body  itself  into  its  own 
image.  Nor  is  this  change  to  be  regarded  as  something  wrought 
upon  the  body  in  the  way  simply  of  outward  or  foreign  power — 
as  though  a  stone  were  transformed  suddenly  into  a  winged 
bird ;  for  this  would  be  to  sink  all  into  the  sphere  of  blind  dark 
nature.  The  glorification  of  the  believer's  body  is  the  result  of 
the  same  process  that  sanctifies  his  soul.  The  order  of  existence 
in  both  cases  is  the  same,  pneumatic,  and  not  simply  natural  or 
psychic.  "  Our  life  is  now  hid  with  Christ  in  God  ;  but  when 
Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  we  also  appear 
with  him  in  glory"  (Col.  iii.  4);  our  whole  man,  of  course,  like 
his,  quickened  in  the  Spirit  and  made  meet  for  heaven.  As  the 
subjects  of  this  new  creation,  steadily  advancing  towards  its  ap- 
pointed end.  Christians  are  described  as  being  already  in  the 
Spirit  and  not  in  the  flesh — that  is,  as  participant  in  the  pneu- 
matic order  of  existence,  of  which  Jesus  Christ  is  the  principle 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  the  medium,  and  not  under  the  power 
simply  of  our  nature  as  derived  with  a  fallen  character  from  the 
first  Adam.  And  this  is  no  moral  relation  merely,  but  the  actual 
presence  of  a  higher  life  in  the  most  real  form,  extending  to  the 
person  of  the  believer  as  a  whole.  His  very  body,  accordingly, 
is  constituted  thus  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  (]  Cor.  vi.  19.) 
"He  that  is  joined  to  the  Lord  is  one  spirit"  (I  Cor.  vi.  17); 
not  simply  so  far  as  his  own  spiritual  nature,  abstractly  con- 
sidered, is  concerned,  but  in  the  totality  of  his  regenerated  per- 
son, as  united  with  Christ. in  the  element  or  sphere  of  the  Spirit, 
and  not  in  the  sphere  of  mere  nature  only.  "  Ye  are  not  in  the 
flesh, hut  in  the  Spirit,^'  says  the  apostle,  "if  so  be  that  the  Spirit 
of  God  dwell  in  you.     Now  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of 


228  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

Christ,  he  is  none  of  his.  And  if  Christ  he  in  yon,  the  body  is 
dead  because  of  sin;  but  the  Spirit  is  life  because  of  righteous- 
ness. But  if  the  Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the 
dead  dwell  in  yuu,  he  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead,  shall 
also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies  hy  his  Spirit  that  dwelleih  in 
yon"  (Rom.  viii.  9-11).* 

*  That  the  whole  spiritual  life  of  the  Christian,  including  the  resurrection 
of  his  body,  is  thus  organically  connected  with  the  mediatorial  life  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  might  seem  to  be  too  plainly  taught  in  the  New  Testament,  to 
admit  of  any  question  ;  and  yet  we  lind  many  slow  to  allow  the  mystery,  not- 
withstanding. A  very  common  view  appears  to  be,  that  the  whole  salvation 
of  the  gospel  is  accomplished,  in  a  more  or  less  outward  and  mechanical  way, 
by  supernatural  might  and  power,  rather  than  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  as  the 
revelation  of  a  new  historical  life  in  the  person  of  the  believer  himself.  So 
we  have  an  outward  imputation  of  righteousness  to  begin  with  ;  a  process  of 
sanctitication  carried  forward  by  the  help  of  proper  spiritual  machinery, 
brought  to  bear  on  the  soul,  including  perhaps,  as  its  basis,  the  notion  of  an 
abrupt  creation  de  novo,  by  the  fiat  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  finally,  to  crown 
all,  a  sudden  unprepared  refabrication  of  the  body,  as  an  entirely  new  pro- 
duct of  Almighty  power  at  the  moment,  to  be  superadded  to  the  life  of  the 
spirit  already  complete  in  its  state  of  glory.  But  the  Scriptures  sanction  no 
such  hypothesis  in  the  case.  The  new  creation  is  indeed  supernatural  ;  but 
as  such  it  is  strictly  conformable  to  the  general  order  and  constitution  of  life. 
It  is  a  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus,  not  by  him  in  the  way  of  mere  outward 
power.  The  subjects  of  it  are  saved,  only  by  being  brought  within  the  sphere 
of  his  life,  as  a  regular,  historical,  divine  human  process,  in  the  Church.  The 
new  nature  implanted  in  them  at  their  regeneration,  is  not  a  higher  order  of 
existence  framed  for  them  at  the  moment  out  of  nothing  by  the  fiat  of  God, 
but  truly  and  strictly  a  continuation  of  Christ's  life  over  into  their  persons. 
The  growth  of  this  life  in  them  forms  their  sanclification.  When  they  die, 
their  bodies  sleep  in  Jesus ;  so  that  at  the  last  God  brings  them  with' him  again, 
when  the  Church  is  made  complete  by  his  second  coming,  (1  Thess.  iv.  14.) 
The  resurrection  of  the  head  and  the  ultimate  resurrection  of  the  members, 
form  one  process,  as  truly  as  the  death  of  Adam  and  his  posterity  constitutes 
throughout  but  one  and  the  same  tremendous  fact.  In  Christ,  all  shall  be 
made  alive.  His  resurrection  is  the  pledge  of  theirs,  even  as  the  first  fruits 
give  token  of  the  coming  harvest,  (1  Cor.  xv.  22,  23.)  He  is  "  the  beginning, 
the  first-born  from  the  dead,"  which,  as  we  have  seen,  implies  the  force  of  a 
common  law  in  the  case  of  those  tliat  follow,  (Col.  i.  IS.)  It  is  the  Spirit  of 
Ciirist,  710W  dwelling  in  believers,  that  shall  in  due  time  quicken  their  mortal 
bodies,  in  conlbrmity  witli  the  power  of  his  own  resurrection  stale  ;  thus 
bringing  to  full  manifestation  the  hidden  life  of  the  sons  of  God,  in  that  adop- 
tion, {yio^srsiar — rrjv  arioT^vt^iOGLv  tov  Oi^fxatoi;^,  towards  which  their  whole 
Balvation  here  struggles,  and  without  which  it  can  never  be  regardeil  as  com- 
plete, (Rom.  viii.  11,  19,  23.)  It  will  not  do,  in  view  of  such  representa- 
tions, to  speak  of  the  resurrection  of  believers  as  an  abrupt  miracle,  holding 
no  inward  historical  connection  with  the  resurrection  life  of  Christ,  as  it 
wrought  in  them  mightily,  by  the  Spirit,  before  their  death.  True  it  is  ascri- 
bed to  supernatural  power,  (1  Thess.  iv.  16,)  and  we  are  referred  sometimes  to 
1  Cor.  XV.  52,  as  teaching  that  the  change  is  to  be  instantaneous,  and  without 
preparation.  But  tliis  is  of  no  real  weight.  That  the  winding  up  of  the  mys- 
tery of  Christianity  should  include  revelations  of  divine  power  altogether 
transcending  the  present  order  of  the  Church,  is  only  what  might  be  expected  ; 
while  it  is  quite  possible  that  these  may  be  found  after  all  but  the  proper  com- 
pletion of  the  mystery  itself,  alter  it  shall  have  been  conducted  to  this  point. 
As  to  t!ie  instantaneousness  of  the  change,  (;^o  far  as  the  passage  referred  to 
may  be  supposed  to  have  the  case  of  the  dead  in  view  at  all,)  it  holds  only, 
of  course,  of  the  revelation  which  is  made  to  take  place  at  the  time.     As 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  229 

Here  tlien  we  see  the  nature  of  the  mystical  union,  as  it  holds 
between  Christ  and  his  people.  It  falls  not,  in  any  sense,  within 
the  sphere  of  nature  as  such,  and  we  cannot  say  of  it  in  this 
view,  that  it  is  physical.  But  just  as  little  are  we  at  liberty  to 
conceive  of  it  as  merely  moral.  Its  sphere  is  that  of  the  Spirit. 
In  this  sphere,  however,  it  is  in  the  highest  measure  real;  far 
more  real,  indeed,  than  it  could  possibly  be  under  any  other  con- 
ceivable form.  Christ  is  not  sundered  from  the  Church  by  the 
intervention  of  his  Spirit.  On  the  contrary,  he  is  brought  nearer 
to  it,  and  made  one  with  it  more  intimately,  beyond  measure,  in 
this  way,  than  if  he  were  still  outwardly  in  the  midst  of  it  as  in 
the  days  of  his  flesh.  And  this  union,  as  we  have  seen,  extends 
to  the  personal  totality  of  the  Saviour  on  the  one  side,  and  to  the 
personal  totality  at  the  same  time  of  the  believer  on  the  other. 
No  conception  can  well  be  more  unbiblical,  than  that  by  which 
the  idea  of  spirit  (jtviZ^a)  in  this  case,  is  restrained  to  the  form 
of  mere  mind,  whether  as  divine  or  human,  in  distinction  from 
body.  The  whole  glorified  Christ  subsists  and  acts  in  the  Spirit. 
Under  this  form  his  nature  communicates  itself  to  his  people. 
They  too,  to  the  same  extent,  are  made  thus  to  live  and  walk  in 
the  Spirit,  both  in  soul  and  body.  Christ  lives  in  them,  and 
they  live  in  Christ;  and  still,  as  their sanctification  proceeds, this 
mutual  indwelling  becomes  more  intimate  and  complete,  till,  at 
last,  in  the  resurrection,  they  appear  fully  transformed  into  the 
same  image,  "  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord."  (2  Cor.  iii.  18. 
Philip,  iii.  21.) 

No  more  apt  or  beautiful  illustration  of  this  union  between 
Christ  and  the  Church  can  be  imagined  than  that  which  he  has 
himself  furnished,  in  the  allegory  of  the  vine  and  its  branches. 
(John  XV.  1-8.)  "I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches;  he  that 
abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much 
fruit;  for  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing."  To  understand  this 
of  a  mere  moral  union,  is  to  degrade  the  whole  subject.  "  It  is 
not  to  be  disputed,"  says  Tholuck,  "  that  a  higher  relation  is 
here  exhibited  than  that  of  master  and  disciple,  nothing  less  in 
fact  than  a  real  oneness,  (eine  ivesentliche  Einheit,)  effected 
through  the  medium  of  faith."  It  is  well  remarked  by  Liicke, 
that  the  earthly,  here  as  elsewhere,  is  exhibited  by  Christ  as  the 

Olshausen  justly  remarks  {Comm.  in  loc),  this  by  no  means  excludes  the  sup. 
position  of  a  previous  preparation  in  the  life  of  the  believer  for  this  result.  It 
implies,  indeed,  that  there  has  been  no  development  during  death.  But  so 
far  as  the  previous  state  is  concerned,  it  amounts  to  nothing  more  than  thi?, 
that  the  process  which  was  before  hidden,  is  now  brought  to  burst  into  view- 
suddenly,  in  its  complete  form.  The  birth  of  the  butterfly,  as  it  mounts  ia 
the  air  on  wings  of  light,  is  comparatively  sudden  too  ;  but  this  is  the  revela- 
tion  only  of  a  life,  which  had  been  gradually  formed  for  this  efflorescence 
before,  under  cover  of  the  vile,  unsightly  larve. 

20 


230  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE.  ^ 

image  or  copy  (Abbild)  of  the  heavenly.  Nature  finds  its  divine 
archetype  or  Urbild  at  last,  only  in  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit. 
Thus  the  connection  which  holds  between  the  vine  and  its 
branches,  is  not  so  much  a  figure  of  the  life  union  that  has  place 
between  Christ  and  believers,  as  the  very  reflex  of  this  mystery 
itself.  He  is  accordingly  the  true  vine,  in  whom  is  revealed,  in 
this  case,  the  full  reality,  of  which  only  an  adumbration  is  pre- 
sent in  all  lower  forms  of  life.  The  union  between  the  vine  and 
its  branches  is  organic.  They  are  not  placed  together  in  an  out- 
ward and  merely  mechanical  way.  The  vine  reveals  itself  in  the 
branches;  and  the  branches  have  no  vitality  apart  from  the  vine. 
All  form  one  and  the  same  life.  The  naturesof  the  stock  is  re- 
produced continually,  with  all  its  qualities,  in  every  shoot  that 
springs  from  its  growth,  no  matter  how  far  removed  from  the 
root.  And  all  this  is  only  the  symbol  of  Christ's  relation  to  his 
people.  Here,  in  a  far  higher  sphere,  the  region  of  the  Spirit  as 
distinguished  from  that  of  mere  nature,  it  is  one  and  the  same 
life  again  that  reigns  in  the  root  and  all  its  branches.  The  union 
is  organic.  The  parts  exist  not  separately  from  the  whole,  but 
grow  out  of  it,  and  stand  in  it  continually,  as  their  own  true  and 
proper  life.  Christ  dwells  in  his  people  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
is  formed  in  them  the  hope  of  glory.  1'hey  grow  up  into  him 
in  all  things;  and  are  transformed  into  the  same  image,  from 
glory  to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.  The  life  of  Christ  is 
reproduced  in  them,  under  the  same  true  human  character  that 
belongs  to  it  in  his  own  j^erson. 

The  allegory  of  the  body,  as  borrowed  by  Paul  particularly 
from  another  sphere  of  life,  in  illustration  of  the  same  subject, 
is  no  less  full  of  instruction.     A  common  political  corporation 
may  indeed  be  represented  by  the  same  comparison,  so  far  as  the 
idea  of  mutual  subserviency  on  the  part  of  its  members  is  con- 
cerned;  as  in  the  case  of  the  apologue  of  Menenius  Agrippa, 
once  employed   to  compose  a  civil  discord  at  Rome,  which  is  / 
brought  forward  sometimes  as  a  parallel  to  1  Cor.  xii.  14-26.^ 
But  as  Calvin  well  remarks,  on  this  passage,  the  two  cases  are 
of  a  wholly  different  character;  since  the  ground  of  unity  in  the 
Church  is  always  represented  by  Paul  to  be  of  a  far  deeper  na- 
ture than  is  to  be  found  anywhere  else;  nothing  less,  in  fact,  than 
the  life  of  Christ  himself,  mystically  flowing  through   its  entire 
constitution.     *'  As  the  body  is  one,  and   hath   many  members, 
and  all  the  members  of  that  one  body,  being  many,  are  one  body ; 
so  also  is  Christ.     For  by  one   Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into 
one  body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we  be  bond 
or  free;  and  have  all  been  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit."  (1  Cor. 
xu.   12,  ]3,  27.    Rom.   xii.    4,  5.)     ''Christ  is  head    over  all 
things  to  the  Church,  which  is  his  bodv,  the  fulness  of  him  that 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT. 


231 


filleth  all  in  all"  (Eph.  i.  22,  23).    From  him,  as  its  head,  "  the 
whole  body,  fitly  joined  together,  and  compacted  by  that  which 
every  joint  supplielh,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 
measure  of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto  the  edi- 
fying of  itself  in  love."     (Eph.  iv.  15,  16.  v.  23,  30.  Col.  i.  18, 
24.  ii.  19.)  The  relation  here  exhibited  involves  of  course  a  real 
life  union,  of  the  most  intimate  character.     The  head  is  not  iu 
the  members,  nor  in  contact  with  them,  locally ;   but  all  local 
connection  falls  immeasurably  short  of  the  bond  that  holds  be- 
tween it  and  the  body.     Nor  is  the  union   this  simply,  that  the 
members  are  ruled  and  conducted  by  the  will  of  the  head.    It  is 
the  presence  of  a  common  life — the  animal  spirit,  as  it  has  been 
called — always  proceeding   from  the  head  into  the  limbs,  and 
having  no  proper  existence  in  a  single  limb   under  any  other 
form.     But  does  the  spirit  of  life  in  this  case,  the  basis  of  such 
organic  unity,  remain  in  the  body  as  a  mere  abstract  force?    By 
no  means.     It  rules  the  whole  process  of  assimilation  and  repro- 
duction, and  thus  calls  into  being  continually  the  material  volume 
and   substance  of  every  limb,  as  well  as  its  vital  activity.     The 
head  is  in  this  way  in  the  members,  as  the  principle  from  which 
unceasingly  all  their  existence  is  drawn.     And  so  it  is  with  the^ 
relation  of  Christ  to  the  Church,  only  in  a  far  higher  order  of 
life.  It  is  no  mechanical  conjunction  that  makes  them  one.  The 
case  excludes  the  supposition  of  every  thing  like  a  magical  or 
merely  outward  transfer  of  life  from  Christ  to  his  people,  such 
as  is  implied  in  the  dogma  of  transubstantiation.     But  neither, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  the  conjunction   simply  spiritualistic ;   for 
this  would  be  to  resolve  all  at  last  into  a  merely  moral  character. 
In  distinction  from  both  these  conceptions,  we  say  of  it  that  it  is 
organic,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  this  term.     The  new  human  life 
in  Christ  reaches  over,  as  a  central  uncompounded  force,  hy  the 
Spirit,  into  the  persons  of  Christ's  people;   and  there  reveals 
itself,  with  constantly  reproductive  energy,  under  the  same  form, 
true   always  to   its  own  nature,  till   at  length  the  whole  man, 
spirit,  soul  and  body,  is  transformed  fully  into  its  image. 

Another  very  remarkable  and  most  significant  illustration,  is 
employed  (Eph.  v.  22—33,)  with  reference  to  the  same  subject. 
Even  under  the  Old  Testament,  the  marriage  relation  was  fre- 
quently made  the  type  or  symbol  of  the  covenant  connection 
established  between  God  and  his  people.  So  in  the  Apocalypse, 
the  Church  is  styled  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,  (Rev.  xix.  7. 
21:  2,9).  But  all  falls  short  of  the  representation  which  is 
here  presented  to  our  view.  De  Wette,  and  other  commenta- 
tors of  like  rationalistic  stamp,  resolve  all  of  course  in  this  case, 
as  in  every  case  of  the  same  sort,  into  mere  figure  and  sound. 
But  this  is  to  do  violence  to  the  whole  spirit  of  the  passage. 


232  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

Paul  himself  declares  the  subject  to  be  a  "  great  mystery;"  and 
it  is  plain  that  he  feels  himself  struggling  throughout  with  a 
thought,  too  vast  altogether  for  the  reach  and  grasp  of  the  mere 
understanding  as  such.  Marriage  itself  is  a  mystery;  not,  in- 
deed, a  sacrament,  in  the  proper  sense,  as  it  is  held  to  be  by  the 
Church  of  Rome;  but  still  of  what  may  be  termed  sacramental 
significance  and  solemnity;  a  true  and  proper  symbol  in  this 
view  of  the  mystical  union,  as  it  holds  between  Christ  and  his 
Church.*  "  So  ought  men  to  love  their  wives,"  says  the  apos- 
tle, "as  their  own  bodies;  he  that  loveth  his  wife  loveth  him- 
self" And  thus  the  Lord  regards  and  cherishes  the  Church. 
"  For  we  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh  and  of  his  bones." 
This  means,  according  to  Pelogius,  "  membra  ejus  eum  debent 
imitari  in  omnibus!"  How  different  the  commentary  of  Calvin. 
*'  The  passage,"  he  tells  us,  "  is  classic  on  our  mystical  commu- 
nication with  Christ.  It  is  not  to  be  considered  hyperbolical, 
in  this  view,  but  simple;  and  it  not  only  signifies  that  Christ 
partakes  of  our  nature,  but  is  intended  to  express  something 
deeper  and  more  emphatic.  For  the  words  of  Moses,  Gen.  ii.  24, 
are  quoted.  And  what  now  is  the  sense?  As  Eve  was  formed 
out  of  the  substance  of  her  Imsband  Adam,  that  she  might  be 
as  it  were  a  part  of  himself;  so  we,  that  we  may  be  true  mem- 
bers of  Christ,  by  the  communication  of  his  substance,  coalesce 
with  him  into  one  body."  (^Com.  in  loc.)  The  Church  may  be 
styled  thus,  according  to  the  beautiful  allusion  of  Hooker  to  this 
comparison  with  the  case  of  Eve,  "  a  true  native  extract  out  of 
Christ's  body."  Clearly  the  apostle  has  in  his  mind  here  more 
than  any  merely  figurative  or  moral  incorporation  with  the 
Saviour.  The  stress  of  the  quotation  from  Gen.  ii.  24,  lies  on 
the  last  clause,  "  they  two  shall  be  one  flesh;"  and  this  is  applied 
directly  to  the  case  of  Christ  and  the  Church,  (which  he  adds 
immediately,  is  a  "  great  mystery,")  in  justification  of  the  pre- 
vious declaration,  "  We  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh, 
and  of  his  bones."  The  whole  passage  is  well  exhibited,  with 
most  thorough  and  comprehensive  exegesis,  in  the  sense  now 
given,  by  Harless;  whose  commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  may  be  said  to  throw  all  others  into  the  shade,  and 
whose  judgment  in  this  case,  especially  when  backed  by  the  high 
authority  of  Calvin,  no  man  of  learning  at  least  can  fail  to 
respect. 

*  Dass  die  Ehe,  bcsonders  das,  worin  ihre  Eifrenthiimlichkeit  bestoht,  Gen. 
ii.  24,  ein  HeilisTthum  sci,  so  dass  mit  ilim  das  Ileiligste,  was  eines  Menschcn 
Besitzthum  wird,  anschaulich  gemacht  werden  darf,  wird  die  Bestialiliit  der 
SUade  freilich  nie  begreifen;  aber  der  Geist  muss  es  erfahren  und  begreifen. 
Fur  jene  schreibt  auch  nicht  der  Apostel ;  fiir  sie  giebt  es  im  Hiininei  und 
auf  Erden  kein  heiligcs  Geheimnissj  sie  findet  Ubcrall  nur  den  Fkich  ihrcr 
eigenen  Vcrworfenheit.     Harless. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMExNT.  233 

It  is  only  on  the  ground  of  this  real,  inward  life  union  be- 
tween Christ  and  his  people,  that  we  can  properly  appreciate  or 
understand  much  of  the  common  phraseology  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, in  speaking  of  Christians  and  their  peculiar  character 
and  state.  In  various  ways,  Christ  is  described  as  dwelling  and 
working  in  his  people;  and  so  on  the  other  side,  nothing  is 
more  common  than  for  Christians  to  be  spoken  of  as  in  Christ. 
All  Christian  relations  hold  only  in  the  Lord.  All  Christian 
graces  are  to  be  cultivated,  and  all  Christian  works  performed, 
in  the  Lord.  Exemplifications  are  needless.  The  whole  Chris- 
tian life  is  represented  under  the  same  formula.  In  Christ  is 
only  another  expression  for  Christian  itself  So  common  and 
familiar  indeed  is  this  style,  that  the  peculiarity  by  many  is 
hardly  noticed  at  all.  But  substitute  Moses  for  Christ;  and  at 
once  we  must  feel  how  wholly  inapplicable  such  language  is  to 
a  merely  moral  relation.  The  whole  New  Testament  assumes 
that  the  relation  of  Christ  to  his  people  is  more  than  moral;  that 
it  involves  a  real  community  of  life,  in  virtue  of  which,  as  he 
dwells  in  their  hearts  by  faith,  so  they  may  be  said  to  be  rooted 
and  built  up  in  him  also  unto  every  good  word  and  work.  (Eph. 
iii.  16—19;  Col.  ii.  6—10). 

^■"^  Specially  striking,  in  this  view,  are  those  passages  in  which 
Christians  are  represented  as  having  already  in  Christ  all  that 
is  comprehended  in  the  complete  idea  of  the  Christian  salvation. 
In  the  Saviour  himself,  the  victory  over  death  and  hell  was  con- 
summated in  his  resurrection  and  ascension.  In  the  Church, 
however,  as  a  whole,  and  in  every  individual  believer,  the  new 
life  reveals  itself  as  a  process.  In  no  sense  can  the  Christian, 
viewed  in  himself,  be  said  to  be  complete.  And  yet  as  compre- 
hended in  the  life  of  Christ,  he  is  often  spoken  of  as  actually 
possessing  already  all  that  this  involves.  Thus,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  he  is  described  Sishaving  eternal  life  now;  though 
the  full  sense  of  his  privilege  in  this  respect,  of  course  remains 
to  be  developed  hereafter.  His  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 
So  he  is  not  only  justified,  but  even  sanctified  and  glorified  in 
Christ.  "Ye  are  complete  in  him,  which  is  the  head  of  all 
principality  and  power,"  (Col.  ii.  10].  Paul  seems  at  times 
almost  to  lose  sight  of  the  distinction  between  Christ  and  the 
Christian,  in  the  overwhelming  sense  he  has  of  their  oneness. 
We  are  crucified,  dead  and  buried  with  Christ,  and  have  risen 
with  him  again  to  a  new  and  higher  life,  (Rom.  vi.  3 — 11.  vii. 
4.  viii.  11.  Gal.  ii.20.  Phil.  iii.  9— 12.  Col.  ii.  12.  iii.  1—4). 
This  form  of  speaking  is  quite  too  strong  and  deliberate,  to  be 
resolved  into  mere  rhetorical  flourish.  Nor  will  it  meet  the  case 
fully,  to  say  that  it  turns  merely  upon  a  certain  sort  of  analogy, 
that  may  be  supposed  to  hold  between  Christ's  outward  history 

20* 


234  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

and  the  spiritual  experience  of  the  believer.  The  outward  and 
inward  do  indeed  flow  together  in  the  two  cases.  But  it  is  only 
^because  the  one  is  really  and  truly  involved  in  the  other.*  The 
new  life,  in  the  Spirit,  first  in  Christ  and  then  in  his  people, 
extends  to  the  whole  man ;  and  being  in  both  organically  the 
same,  is  found  in  the  end  to  repeat  itself,  with  true  reproduction 
outward  as  well  as  inward,  to  the  utmost  extremities  of  the  body 
of  which  he  is  the  mystical  head.  Thus  every  Christian  may  be 
said  to  be  in  Christ  potentially  from  the  beginning,  all  that  he  is 
destined  to  become  actually  when  his  salvation  shall  be  com- 
plete. The  power  that  is  actively  at  work  in  his  person,  is  the 
same  all-conquering  life  (Phil.  iii.  21)  that  wrought  mightily  in 
Christ,  when  he  was  raised  from  the  dead  and  set  at  God's  right 
hand  in  the  heavenly  places,  far  above  all  principality,  and  power, 
and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not 
only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come ;  and  was 
thus  constituted  gloriously  head  over  all  things  to  the  Church, 
which  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all,  (Eph. 
i.  19 — 23).  And  in  view  of  this  relation,  the  apostle  does  not 
hesitate  to  add  immediately  afterwards,  "  He  hath  quickened  us 
together  with  Christ,  and  hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made 
us  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus,"  (Eph.  ii.  1, 
5,  6).  All  in  the  past  tense,  not  in  the  future. t  So  Rom.  viii. 
30,  not  only  the  calling  of  believers  and  their  justification,  but 
their  glorification  also,  is  exhibited  as  something  alreqdy  com- 
plete, (oL'f  §£  £§tz(uco(5£,  TTovtovi  xai  £Sc|a(Jf). 

On  this  last  passage,  Olshausen's  remarks  are  particularly 
striking;  and  closely  related  as  they  are  to  the  whole  topic  now 
in  hand,  I  may  be  permitted  to  quote  them  in  full.  "The 
essential  point,"  he  tells  us,  "  in  the  doctrine,  of  Christ's  active 

*  The  acts  of  God  for  our  redemption  are  all  fulfilled  and  accomplished  in 
Jesus  Christ.  The  several  steps  of  development  in  Christ's  life,  are  for  this 
very  reason  so  many  steps  in  the  work  of  redemption,  from  his  birth  or  incar- 
nation  on  to  his  ascension.  For  he  is  our  redemption,  not  his  doctrine,  nor 
his  work,  nor  his  example  ;  his  work  is  not  to  be  sundered  irom  his  person  ; 
and  his  life  and  death  are  the  form  precisely  in  which  it  has  been  accom- 
plished. It  is  sheer  nonsense  to  give  up  the  personal  and  historical  Christ, 
and  still  think  of  retaining  a  firm  hold  upon  Christianity."  Kliefoth.  Thcorie 
des  KuUus,  Vt.  ISS.  On  this  ground,  he  urges  the  true  significance  and  impor- 
tance of  the  Church  Festivals,  as  related  to  Christ.  They  are  not  simply  the 
memorial,  but  the  bond  also,  of  the  proper  vital  union  that  subsists  between 
him  and  his  people. 

t  Et  ceite  quamvis  salus  nostra 'in  spe  sit  adhuc  abscondita,  quantum  ad 
nos  spectat ;  in  Christo  nihildminus  beatam  iinmnrtalitatem  et  gloriam  possi- 
dcmus,  Ideo  addit,  Tn  Christo ;  quia  nondum  hrcc  quce  commemorat,  in 
mcmbris  apparent,  sod  in  solo  capite ;  propter  arcanam  tamen  unitatcm,  ad 
membra  certo  pertinent.  Calvin,  Comm.  Eph.  ii.  G. — Cliristus  ist  der  reale 
Typus  fur  alle  Lebcnsgestaltung  der  Ileiligen  bis  ans  Ende,  so  dass,  was  sie 
loben,  nur  die  Entwickelung  des  in  Kcim  schon  in  ilim  Gcgcbencn  und  von 
ihm  aus  in  ihr  Wesen  Gepflantzten  ist.     Olshauscn  in  loc. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  235 

obedience  is  this,  that  his  agency  in  our  salvation  is  not  negative 
in  its  form  simply,  but  full  as  much  'positive.  Christ  does  not 
simply  take  away  sin  in  the  case  of  men,  and  then  leave  them  to 
work  out  holiness  for  themselves,  but  he  has  by  his  holy  life 
wrought  out  this  also,  for  himself  and  for  all  his  people ;  so  that 
both,  the  destruction  of  the  old  and  also  the  creation  of  the  new, 
in  the  process  of  regeneration,  are  alike  Christ's  work,  both 
completed  by  him  too  in  his  earthly  state ;  so  as  to  be  in  the  first 
place  imputed  to  individual  believers,  and  then  communicated  to 
them  in  a  gradual  way.  This  is  here  most  distinctly  expressed 
by  the  words  iStxaiwcfE  xai  i5d|a«f.  Even  the  first  term  implies 
a  real  communication  of  the  ^Lxatosvvrj  X^tor'ov  (comp.  Rom.  iii. 
21;)  the  other  however,  ido^an^,  represents  it  as  a  matter  of  ac- 
tual possession  even  under  its  full  form  of  holiness  and  perfec- 
tion— though  Paul  had  a  little  before  (v.  23,)  disclaimed  this  for 
himself  and  Christians  generally.  As  then  the  whole  human 
race,  naturally  considered,  lay  originally  in  Adam,  and  all  his- 
tory is  thus  but  the  development  of  what  his  nature  included  ;  so 
Christ  also  is  the  real  bearer  of  the  entire  Church,  the  new  cre- 
ation, the  sanctified  humanity,  as  he  not  only  by  the  virtue  of  his 
atonement  destroys  the  old,  but  to  the  same  extent  creates  the 
new  also,  and  forms  his  own  sacred  image  in  every  believing 
soul.  Only  in  this  view  does  it  become  clear,  how  faith  is  the 
one  and  all  of  the  Christian  life.  The  Christian  is  not  called, 
either  before  or  after  his  conversion,  io  form  an  independent  holi- 
ness for  himself;  but  only  to  receive  continuously  the  stream  of 
life  that  flows  upon  him  from  Christ;  and  this  reception  is  itself 
faith.  Just  as  the  plant,  when  the  germ  has  begun  to  grow, 
needs  only  to  take  in  moisture,  air  and  light,  in  order  that  it 
may  unfold  itself  from  within;  whilst  all  the  handling  of  an  un- 
skilful gardener,  for  the  purpose  of  precipitating  its  growth  in  some 
different  way,  serves  only  to  frustrate  what  it  seeks  to  advance. 
And  still  this  dhsoXuiQ  passivity  is  at  the  same  time  the  highest 
activity;  since  Christ  works,  not  without  the  man,  but  in  the 
very  inmost  depths  of  his  being,  infusing  into  the  will  itself  the 
active  force  of  his  own  life.  Only,  the  believer  always  feels  that 
the  power  of  which  he  is  thus  possessed  is  not  from  himself,  and 
his  humility  accordingly  grows  with  his  perfection ;  it  is  not  he 
that  works,  but  Christ  lives  and  works  in  him,  (Gal.  ii.  20). 
Hence  we  may  see,  how  in  the  passage  before  us  it  is  just  the 
aorist  which  is  required  for  its  proper  sense ;  so  that  every  at- 
tempt to  get  rid  of  this  tense  must  be  absolutely  rejected.  The 
future  here  is  not  in  place;  for  with  the  word,  "//  is  finished  P* 
our  Lord  made  his  whole  Church,  together  with  the  xti.'5i.<;,  nega- 
tively and  positively  complete,  for  all  ages.  No  mortal  can  add 
any  thing,  however  little,  to  his  work ;  all  that  unfolds  itself  in 


236  THE    MYSTICAL   PRESENCE. 

the  individual  members  of  his  Church  through  distant  centuries, 
is  but  the  development  of  what  was  previously  at  hand  in  his 
person.  The  Church  and  every  particular  believer,  along  with 
the  xn'fftj  which  forms  its  necessary  basis,  are  "  God's  workman- 
ship created  in  Christ  Jesus,"  (Eph.  ii.  10).  Redemption  is  a 
new,  glorified  creation,  and  all  creation  must  remain  for  ever  the 
prerogative  of  God  alone.  The  connection  imperatively  re- 
quires this  sense;  for  it  is  the  certainty  of  salvation,  as  superior 
to  all  earthly  contingency,  that  Paul  wishes  to  establish.  But 
there  is  no  true  certainty,  except  as  it  lies  in  a  divine  act.  Sal- 
vation would  be  the  most  uncertain  of  all  uncertainties,  if  it  were 
made  to  rest,  not  on  the  objective  act  of  God  in  Christ,  but  upon 
the  fluctuating  subjectivity  of  men  themselves.  Only  under  this 
objective  view  does  the  gospel  become  a  true  joyful  message, 
which  nothing  can  overthrow,  ixndLw\\iQ,\i  infidelity  itself  can  only 
reject." 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT. 


237 


SECTION  VI. 

JOHN  VI.  51-58. 

The  sixth  chapter  of  John  is  allowed  on  all  hands  to  be  of 
special  interest  and  importance,  in  relation  to  the  subject  with 
which  we  are  now  employed.  It  has  been  of  course  very 
variously  interpreted,  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times ;  since 
in  the  nature  of  the  case,  the  light  in  which  it  has  been  regarded 
has  always  depended  on  the  view  taken  of  the  relation  in  general 
to  which  it  refers.  The  passage,  v.  51-5S,  in  which  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  whole,  chapter  is  advanced  to  its  most  startling 
climax,  has  been  felt  to  be  particularly  difficult ;  as  in  addition 
to  other  sources  of  embarrassment,  it  has  been  entangled  from  a 
very  early  period  with  the  sacramental  question.  A  succinct 
history  of  the  interpretation  of  the  passage,  in  this  view,  is  pre- 
sented by-LLicke,,in  an  excursus  appended  to  the  second  volume 
of  his  Comm.  on  John,  2nd  edition.  In  the  early  Church 
Origcn  and  Basil  the  Great,  denied  all  reference  in  it  to  the  sa- 
crament of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Chrysostom,  Cyril,  Theophylact ^ 
held  the  opposite  view ;  which  became  general  subsequently  in 
the  Catholic  Church.  With  the  Reformation,  the  case  was 
changed.  Not  only  Zuingli  and  Calvin,  but  Luther  also,  on 
ditferent  grounds,  agreed  in  the  view  that  the  passage  refers  only 
to  the  general  reception  of  Christ  by  believers,  and  not  to  the 
eucharistic  communion  as  such.  Some  have  still  insisted  since 
on  the  other  view.  But  the  more  important  modern  commenta- 
tors generally  allow,  that  there  is  no  sufficient  room  to  suppose 
any  reference  whatever  to  the  Lord's  Supper. 

So  far  as  the  historical  institution  is  concerned,  this  judgment 
is  no  doubt  correct.  But  it  is  equally  clear,  that  the  idea  which 
the  Holy  Supper  embodies  is  the  same  that  is  here  brought  into 
view;  just  as  in  the  conversation  with  Nicodemus,  the  idea  in- 
volved in  the  sacrament  of  baptism  is  urged,  (John  iii.  5,)  al- 
•though  the  sacrament  itself  in  its  proper  sense  was  not  yet  insti- 
tuted. 

Throughout  the  chapter,  Christ  exhibits  himself  to  the  Jews, 
with  whom  he  was  in  conversation  at  Capernaum,  as  the  true 
source  and  support  of  all  spiritual  life.  *'  Labour  not  for  the 
meat  which  perisheth,  but  for  that  meat  which  endureth  unto 
everlasting  life,  which  the  Son  of  Man  shall  give  unto  you  ;  for 
him  halh  God   the  Father  sealed. — The   bread  of  God  is  he 


238  '  THE    MYSTICAL   PRESENCE. 

which  Cometh  down  from  heaven,  and  giveth  life  unto  the 
world. — I  am  the  bread  of  life;  he  that  cometh  to  me  shall 
never  hunorer ;  and  he  that  believeth  on  me  shall  never  thirst. — 
This  is  the  will  of  him  that  hath  sent  me,  that  every  one  which 
seeth  the  Son,  and  believeth  on  him,  may  have  everlasting  life ; 
and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day. — Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  he  that  believeth  on  me  hath  everlasting  life.  I  am  that 
bread  of  life.  Your  fathers  did  eat  manna  in  the  wilderness, 
and  are  dead.  This  is  the  bread  which  cometh  down  from  heaven, 
that  a  man  may  eat  thereof  and  not  die."  After  the  view  we 
have  already  taken  of  the  relation  of  Christ  to  his  Church,  we 
cannot  be  at  a  loss  for  a  moment,  with  regard  to  the  general 
sense  in  which  this  strong  language  is  to  be  understood.  It  is 
of  course  in  one  respect  figurative;  as  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
all  representations  must  be,  that  are  borrowed  from  the  sphere  of 
nature  to  render  intelligible  what  belongs  to  the  sphere  of  the 
Spirit.  But  shall  we  say,  that  it  refers  only  to  Christ's  doctrine, 
as  the  proper  food  of  the  soul.  Even  de  Wette  will  tell  us,  that 
such  a  supposition  here  is  decidedly  false.  The  reference  to 
his  person  is  altogether  too  full  and  clear.  Jesus  himself  is  the 
bread  of  life.  He  that  cometh  to  me  shall  never  hunger.  We 
come  indeed  by  faith.  But  in  doing  so,  we  go  truly  out  of  our- 
selves and  become  joined  to  his  very  life,  as  the  centre  of  a  new 
consciousness  in  our  own.  "  Neque  enim  fides  Christum  intuetur 
duntaxat  quasi  procul  remotum,"  says  Calvin,  "  sed  eum  amplec- 
titur  ut  noster  fiat,  et  in  nobis  habitet;  facit  ut  coalescamus  in 
ejus  corpus,  communem  habeamus  cum  ipso  vitam,  unum  de- 
nique  simus  cum  ipso."  {Comm.  John  vi.  35.)  The  union  in- 
volves in  this  view  ever-lasting  life;  not  simply  in  the  form  of  a 
promise,  but  as  an  actual  possession.  Even  the  resurrection 
Itself  is  potentially  included  in  it,  as  the  proper  necessary  con- 
summation of  the  new  form  of  existence  to  which  it  gives  rise. 
The  subject  of  this  life  may  die ;  but  says  the  Saviour,  I  will 
raise  him  up  at  the  last  day.  Here  is  something  far  deeper  than 
mere  doctrine,  or  mere  moral  influence  of  any  kind.  Christ 
gives  us  life,  only  by  communicating  himself  to  us  in  a  real 
way. 

It  is  commonly  admitted,  that  with  the  51st  verse,  some  ad- 
vance is  made  on  the  general  thought  previously  presented;  and 
it  is  now  for  the  most  part  granted  also,  that  this  consists  in  a 
specific  reference  to  Christ's  death,  as  the  point  in  which  espe- 
cially his  mediatorial  character  may  be  said  to  have  become 
complete.  It  is  not  easy  indeed  to  avoid  the  feeling,  that  the 
language  carries  in  it  such  a  reference. 

''  I  am  the  living  bread,"  says  the  Saviour  solemnly,  "which 
came  down  from  heaven ;  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  239 

live  forever.  And  the  bread  that  T  will  give  is  my  flesh,  which 
1  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world."  By  his  flesh,  to  be  given 
for  the  life  of  the  world,  cannot  well  be  understood  anythinor  else 
than  the  sacrifice  which  he  has  made  of  himself  for  sin  upon  the 
cross.  The  Jews,  we  are  told,  now  strove  among  themselves, 
saying.  How  can  this  man  give  us  his  flesh  to  eat?  "Then 
Jesus  said  unto  them.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye 
eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have 
no  life  in  you.  Whoso  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood, 
hath  eternal  life ;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day.  For 
my  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  my  blood  is  drink  indeed.  He 
that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood,  dwelleth  in  me  and 
1  in  him.  As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  me,  and  I  live  by  the 
Father ;  so  he  that  eateth  me,  even  he  shall  live  by  me." 

All  must  feel  the  close  correspondence,  that  holds  between 
what  is  here  said  and  the  terms  afterwards  employed  in  the 
institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Here,  as  there,  the  participa- 
tion of  the  believer  in  Christ,  is  made  to  stand  particularly  in 
eating  his  flesh  and  drinking  his  blood.  The  same  idea  evi- 
dently is  exhibited  in  both  cases ;  and  whatever  we  find  to  be 
the  sense  and  force  of  the  representation  in  one  case,  we  can 
hardly  help  allowing  to  it  the  same  significance  also  in  the  other. 
In  the  eucharist,  there  is  reference  directly  to  Christ's  death  ;  it 
is  his  body  broken  and  his  blood  shed  for  sin,  of  which  we  are 
called  to  partake.  And  so  in  the  passage  now  before  us,  the 
reference  is  the  same.  The  Saviour  had  spoken  before  of  his 
person  in  general,  as  the  bread  of  life.  Here  he  fastens  atten- 
tion upon  his  person  under  a  particular  view.  It  is  by  his  death, 
he  is  constituted  the  author  of  eternal  life  to  all  that  turn  towards 
him  for  this  purpose.  Except  ye  eat  the^r^A  of  the  Son  of  Man, 
and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you.  '"This — it  is  said 
in  conclusion — is  that  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven ; 
not  as  your  fathers  did  eat  manna  and  are  dead;  he  that  eateth 
o^  this  bread,  shall  live  forever." 

The  passage  then  looks  directly  to  the  redemption  wrought 
out  by  Christ  upon  the  cross;  but  not  to  this,  as  something  ab- 
stracted from  his  life,  in  the  general  view  in  which  it  had  been 
presented  before.  It  simply  represents  the  form,  under  which 
specifically  the  life  comprehended  in  Christ's  person  for  the 
benefit  of  a  dying  world,  becomes  fully  effective  towards  this 
jend.  The  case  required,  as  we  have  before  seen,  a  deadly  con- 
Iflict  with  him  that  had  the  power  of  death  (Heb.  ii.  14,  15). 
The  Life,  to  show  itself  positively  as  immortality,  must  reveal 
|itself  negatively,  in  the  first  place,  as  the  resurrection.  Hencd' 
its  whole  force,  and  with  it  the  whole  power  of  the  Christian 
alvation,  may  be  regarded  as  concentrated  in  the  idea  of  the 


240  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

atonement,  by  which  the  power  of  sin  and  hell  was  broken  by 
•Christ's  death  upon  the  cross.  "  lie  was  delivered  for  our 
offences,  and  so  raised  again  for  our  justification"  (Rom.  iv.  25). 
But  all  this  at  last,  is  only  the  life  of  the  Son  of  Man,  brought 
into  a  real,  and  not  simply  fantastic,  correspondence  with  our 
wants.  He  is  still  personally  "  the  bread  of  life."  Only,  to  be 
so  in  fact,  he  must  be  apprehended  in  the  character  in  which  he 
is  here  exhibited  to  our  view.  We  must  eat  his  flesh  and  drink 
his  blood;  participate  actually  and  truly  in  his  life,  as  it  was 
made  an  offering  for  sin.  This  it  is  emphatically  that  constitutes 
him  the  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven,  of  which  if  any 
man  eat  he  shall  live  forever. 

Not  by  the  atonement  then,  as  something  made  over  to  us 
separately  from  Christ's  person,  are  we  placed  in  the  possession 
of  salvation  and  life;  but  only  by  the  atonement  as  comprehended 
in  his  person  itself,  and  received  through  faith  in  this  form.  To 
eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man  and  drink  his  blood,  is  not  to  lay 
hold  of  the  merits  of  his  death  simply  in  an  abstract  way,  a  thing 
impossible  in  the  nature  of  the  case;  but  to  lay  hold  of  them  in 
Christ  himself,  who  is  made  of  God  unto  us  all  that  we  need  for 
righteousness  as  well  as  life.  Such  clearly  is  the  sense  of  the 
passage  before  us,  taken  in  connection  with  the  whole  discourse 
of  which  it  is  a  part.  The  hunger  under  which  the  world  is 
suffering  spiritually,  does  not  consist  merely  in  the  want  of  reli- 
gious instruction  or  new  impulses  and  motives  for  the  will.  The 
aliment  for  which  it  calls,  must  come  to  it  in  the  form  of  life. 
In  this  form  accordingly  it  is  exhibited  by  Jesus  Christ,'  as  it  is 
to  be  found  nowhere  else.  Here  is  the  new  birth  of  the  Spirit 
(John  iii.  3,  5,  6),  secured  by  a  living  reception  of  Christ  him- 
self (John  i.  12,  13).  Here  is  the  water  that  quenches  forever 
the  deep  inward  thirst  of  the  human  soul,  that  never  can  be  more 
than  momentarily  allayed  from  any  other  quarter;  '' a  well  of 
water"  in  them  that  receive  it,  "springing  up  into  everlasting 
life"  (John  iv.  10 — 14).  "  If  any  man  thirst,''  says  the  Saviour, 
"let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink!"  (John  vii.  37,  38).  Here 
again  is  the  true  bread  of  life,  under  the  same  form.  *'  He  that 
cometh  to  me  shall  never  hunger,  and  he  that  believeth  on  me 
shall  never  thirst."  Christ  personally  is  this  bread  ;  because  it 
is  only  in  his  person,  that  the  Life  of  the  everlasting  Word, 
which  is  the  true  Light  of  men,  has  revealed  itself  in  the  sphere 
of  our  common  human  existence  (John  i.  4,  14).  Only  in  this 
form,  does  he  still  the  gnawing  hunger  of  humanity,  by  supply- 
ing it  with  the  very  substance  of  life  itself;  a  hunger  which  is 
otherwise  like  the  grave,  that  never  cries.  It  is  enough.  "  He 
that  believeth  on  me,  hath  everlasting  life."  But  how  1  What 
becomes  of  his  sins,  the  cqrse  of  the  broken  law,  the  sentence 


BIBLICAL    AIIGUMENT.  241 

of  death  already  lodged  in  the  inmost  constitution  of  his  nature  ? 
The  life,  which  is  in  Christ,  includes  all  that  is  needed  to  meet 
in  full  the  demands  of  the  entire  case.  It  has  triumphed  over 
death,  and  him  that  had  the  power  of  death.  By  the  sacrifice 
of  HIMSELF  Jesus  has  put  away  sin,  and  perfected  forever  them 
that  are  sanctified  (Heb.  viii.  26;  ix.  10,  14).  The  power  of 
this  sacrifice,  is  that  particularly  which  imparts  to  his  life  its 
saving,  renovating  value,  in  the  circumstances  in  which  it  is 
offered  for  our  use.  Still  the  sacrifice  is  only  the  life  itself,  in 
successful  struggle  with  sin  and  death.  It  is  not  the  doctrine 
in  the  case,  but  the  fact  only,  that  brings  salvation;  and  this, 
let  it  be  well  considered,  can  never  be  separated  from  Christ's 
person.  The  bread  of  life  then,  in  this  view,  is  Christ  as  slain 
for  the  sins  of  the  world,  received  into  the  believer  and  made 
one  with  him  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  must  eat 
\\\s  jlesh  and  drink  his  blood ;  otherwise  we  can  have  no  life. 
His  flesh  is  meat  indeed — his  blood  drink  indeed;  axrj^(Zs,  in 
reality,  not  in  a  shadowy  or  relative  sense  merely,  but  absolutely 
and  truly  in  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit.  The  participation  itself 
involves  everlasting  life;  not  simply  in  the  form  of  hope  and 
promise,  but  in  the  way  of  actual  present  possession;  and  not 
simply  as  a  mode  of  existence  for  the  soul  abstractly  considered, 
but  as  embracing  the  whole  man  in  the  absolute  totality  of  his 
nature,  and  reaching  out  to  the  resurrection  of  the  body  itself 
as  its  legitimate  and  necessary  end.  Christ  once  crucified,  but 
now  in  glory,  is  the  principle  of  immortality  in  every  true  be- 
liever. As  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life,  he  will  raise  him  up 
at  the  last  day,  "  He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my 
hlood,  dwelleth  in  me  and  1  in  him  (iv  ijxol  ^itj-tt,  xdyCj  h  airtj)." 
Stronger  still :  '*  As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  me,  and  I  live 
by  the  Father ;  so  he  that  eateth  me,  even  he  shall  live  by  me." 
Could  language  more  clearly  teach,  that  the  salvation  which  we 
have  by  Christ,  including  his  whole  mediatorial  grace,  comes  to 
us  only  by  the  communication  of  his  own  life? 

All  this  at  the  same  time  is  accomplished  in  a  purely  spiritual 
way,  through  the  activity  of  faith.  Here  is  no  oral  communica- 
tion with  Christ's  flesh  and  blood.  And  yet  the  communication 
is  real.  It  is  not  the  thought  or  image  of  Christ  simply,  that  is 
apprehended  in  the  case,  but  the  very  substance  of  his  life  itself, 
as  it  was  once  offered  for  sin  and  now  reigns  gloriously  exalted 
in  heaven.  Such  is  the  mystery  of  the  new  creation  in  the  Spirit. 
The  common  understanding  may  object  and  cavil,  in  its  old 
style.  How  can  this  man  give  us  his  flesh  to  eat?  But  still  the 
testimony  of  God  is  clear  and  sure.  God  hath  given  to  us  eter- 
nal life;  this  life  is  in  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ;  and  it  becomes 
ours  only  as  we  have  the  Son  himself  formed  in  us  by  the  power 

21 


242  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  then  is  the  very  nature  of  faith  as  con- 
cerned with  our  salvation,  that  it  brings  its  subject  truly  and 
really  within  the  scope  of  this  life,  and  subjects  his  whole  being 
to  its  organific  action ;  causing  him  thus  to  become  a  new  man, 
or  as  the  apostle  has  it,  xau^j  xtlaii,  more  and  more,  on  to  the 
final  resurrection,  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

"It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth ;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing; 
the  words  that  I  speak  unto  you  they  are  spirit,  and  they  are 
life,"  This  observation  of  the  Saviour,  occurring  in  close  con- 
nection with  the  passage  before  us,  and  having  reference  directly 
to  the  offence  which  had  been  taken  with  it  on  the  part  of  many 
as"  a  hard  saying,"  (John  vi.  63),  has  been  considered  by  some 
a  clear  intimation  that  all  which  had  been  spoken  before  was  to 
be  understood  in  the  most  common  metonymical  sense.  They 
will  have  it  that  the  whole  of  this  most  solemn  representation, 
in  which,  over  and  over  again,  the  necessity  of  eating  Christ's 
flesh,  and  drinking  his  blood  is  urged,  as  that  without  which 
men  can  have  no  life — was  intended  only  to  bewilder  and  con- 
found the  carnal  Jews ;  while  the  true  meaning  of  it  comes 
simply  to  this,  that  we  must  be  joined  to  the  Saviour,  by  a  be- 
lieving reception  of  his  doctrine,  or  a  simply  mental  correspon- 
dence with  him  at  most  in  the  power  of  his  sufferings  and  death. 
But  surely  no  exegesis  could  well  be  more  poor  and  flat  than 
this.  It  belongs  itself  emphatically  to  that  very  carnalism,  to 
which  it  affects  to  be  in  its  own  way  so  vastly  superior  ;  for  it 
sticks  plainly  in  the  self-same  abstraction,  which  rendered  it  so 
difficult  for  the  Jews  of  Capernaum  to  understand  our  Saviour, 
and  by  which  the  things  of  the  Spirit  so  generally  are  made  to 
appear  foolishness  to  the  mere  understanding  as  such.  The 
imagination  that  Christ  by  the  words,  Thejlcsh  projileth  nothing, 
intended  simply  to  intimate  that  his  flesh  or  body  could  do  no 
good,  and  that  he  must  be  understood  therefore  to  refer  in  what 
he  had  said  to  a  purely  moral  communication  with  his  person, 
must  be  pronounced  well  nigh  as  crass  as  the  notion  of  an  actual 
oral  manducation  of  his  material  flesh  itself  Spirit  and  flesh 
here  are  opposed  in  a  quite  different  and  far  deeper  sense.  The 
one  represents  the  sphere  of  mere  nature  as  embraced  in  the 
fallen  life  of  Adam,  soul,  body,  and  all.  The  other  designates 
the  higher  order  of  existence,  of  which  Christ  himself  is  the 
principle  {Ttvsvixa  ^coortotoi;^) ,  and  which  reaches  out  from  him  by 
the  Spirit,  as  a  new  divine  creation,  over, the  whole  range  of 
our  being.  It  is  this  that  quickeneth  or  giveth  life  both  to  soul 
and  body.  The  flesh  on  the  other  hand,  whether  as  soul  or 
body,  profiteth  nothing. 

The  bearing  of  all  this  on  the  question  of  the  eucharist,  must 
be  at  once  evident  to  every  reflecting  mind.     The  passage  before 


BIBLICAL   ARGUMENT.  243 

^us  has  no  direct  reference  to  this  ordinance,  as  it  was  afterwards 
to  be  instituted.  It  refers  to  the  Christian  life  in  general.  But 
very  plainly  the  idea  here  exhibited,  is  the  same  that  is  presented 
to  us  in  the  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper  under  a  different 
form.  If  such  a  view  as  we  have  now  taken  of  the  extra-sacra- 
mental life  of  the  believer,  on  the  ground  of  the  representation 
here  made  by  Christ  himself,  be  admitted  with  any  clear  and 
full  conviction,  it  will  not  be  possible  to  resist  the  impression, 
that  the  sacrament  itself  can  involve,  to  say  the  least,  nothing 
less.  Those  on  the  other  hand  who  deny  a  real  communication 
with  Christ's  person  in  the  eucharist,  must  in  the  nature  of  the 
case  deny  also  a  real  extra-sacramental  union  with  him  to  the 
same  extent.  This  does  not  imply  that  the  communion  of  the 
sacrament  and  the  general  Christian  life,  are  at  last  simply  the 
same  thing.  It  comes  to  this  only,  that  the  order  of  life  com- 
prehended in  the  two  cases  is  the  same.  A  man  lives  by  his 
food,  in  the  same  sense  in  which  his  life  holds  as  life,  and  not 
in  some  different  sense.  So  here,  if  the  new  life  of  the  Chris- 
tian be  at  last  a  moral  relation  only  to  the  Saviour,  the  power  of 
the  sacrament  must  be  of  course  of  the  saine  order.  But  if  this 
new  life  stand  in  the  form  of  a  real  incorporation  with  the  per- 
son of  the  Redeemer,  the  power  of  the  sacrament  cannot  hold  in 
the  form  of  mere  good  thoughts  and  good  feelings.  It  must 
involve  too  a  real  participation,  under  its  own  form,  in  Christ's 
life. 

This  much  then  we  reach  for  the  right  understanding  of  the 
Holy  Supper,  by  what  we  have  thus  far  learned  of  the  nature  of 
the  mystical  union  in  general.  As  the  communion  of  Christ's 
body  and  blood,  concentrating  in  itself  the  inmost  sense  of  the 
great  fact  of  Christianity,  it  can  involve  nothing  less  at  least  than 
it  was  supposed  to  involve  in  the  Calvinistic  theory,  as  originally 
held  by  the  Reformed  Church  generally.  "In  the  Supper,"  to 
use  the  language  of  Ursinus,  "  we  are  made  partakers  not  only 
of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  of  his  satisfaction,  justice,  virtue  and 
operation  ;  but  also  of  the  very  substance  and  essence  of  his  true 
body  and  blood,  which  was  given  for  us  to  death  on  the  cross, 
and  which  was  shed  for  us,  and  are  truly  fed  with  the  self-same 
unto  eternal  life."  And  yet  this  implies  no  local  comprehension 
of  the  Saviour's  body  in  the  elements,  no  oral  or  corporeal  con- 
tact with  it  in  any  way.  The  mystery  holds  not  in  the  sphere 
of  the  flesh,  but  in  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit.  We  feed  upon  the 
broken  body  and  shed  blood  of  Christ,  by  faith.  But  that  which 
is  imparted  to  us  through  our  faith,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  is  the  true  divine  human  life  of  the  Son  of  Man  himself, 
objectively  present  in  the  sacramental  transaction  as  such,  and 
really  carried  over  into  our  persons  under  this  form. 


544  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE 


SECTION  VII. 

THE    SACRAMENT    OF    THE    LORd's    SUPPER. 

It  must  ever  betray  a  most  poor  and  narrow  conception  of  the 
nature  of  Christianity  as  a  whole,  to  suppose  that  the  question 
of  Christ's  presence  in  the  Eucharist  may  be  settled  by  a  few 
texts  of  scripture,  taken  in  an  isolated  way,  and  without  regard 
to  the  general  revelation  of  which  they  form  a  part.  It  is  not  in 
this  way,  that  the  true  weight  of  the  scriptural  evidence  for  any 
great  truth  is  to  be  reached.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  for 
instance  is  never  exhibited  under  any  such  formal,  categorical 
statement,  as  we  find  employed  for  the  purpose  in  our  modern 
catechisms  and  confessions.  We  may  say  the  same  thing  of  the 
doctrine  of  Original  Sin.  The  Unitarian  in  the  one  case,  and 
the  Pelagian  in  the  other  have  taken  advantage  of  this  circum- 
stance to  create  distrust  with  regard  to  both.  So  very  momen- 
tous and  fundamental  as  these  points  are  allowed  to  be,  how  is 
it  to  be  accounted  for,  they  have  asked,  that  they  have  not  been 
so  plainly  and  directly  affirmed,  as  to  cut  off  at  once  and  forever 
all  room  for  scepticism  or  cavil  ?  The  objection  is  specious; 
but  we  need  only  to  go  deeper  into  the  true  idea  of  the  Chris- 
tian revelation,  to  feel  its  utter  worthlessness.  Christianity  we 
have  seen  already  to  be  a  Life.  Its  form  is  the  spirit  that 
maketh  alive,  and  not  the  letter  that  killeth.  Its  revelations  are 
not  theorems  but  facts;  not  facts  in  the  form  of  mere  tradition, 
but  actually  subsisting,  always  enduring  facts;  not  disjointed, 
fragmentary  facts,  but  a  glorious  system  of  facts,  organically 
bound  together  and  growing  out  of  each  other,  as  a  single  super- 
natural whole.  A  theology  that  builds  all  its  doctrines  upon 
mere  abstract  texts,  may  arrogate  to  itself  the  character  of 
biblical,  in  the  most  eminent  sense ;  but  it  can  never  have  any 
good  claim  to  be  considered  so  in  reality.  It  belongs  to  the 
very  genius  of  sect,  to  magnify  itself  in  this  way.  It  always 
affects  to  be  biblical,  in  the  highest  degree.  It  will  stand  upon 
the  bible,  and  upon  nothing  but  the  bible.  In  the  end  however, 
its  biblicity  is  found  to  resolve  itself  invariably  into  such  a  poor, 
circumscribed  conception  of  revealed  truth,  as  is  now  described. 
Isolated  texts,  viewed  through  the  medium  of  some  particular 
sect  hobby,  are  made  to  exhaust  the  whole  proof,  whether  for  or 
against  the  position  on  which  thQy  are  made  to  bear.  But  no 
use  of  the  scriptures  can  well  be  more  truly  unbiblical  than  this. 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  245 

Christianity  is  not  a  skeleton,  nor  yet  a  corpse  for  the  use  of  the 
dissecting  room.  The  bible  is  not  to  be  understood,  by  frag- 
ments, and  as  seen  from  any  and  every  point  of  view  where  the 
beholder  may  happen  to  stand.  \  All  turns  on  the  position  of  the 
beholder  himself,  and  his  power  of  observing  and  comprehend- 
ing the  revelation  as  a  whole.  He  must  stand  in  the  truth,  have 
sympathy  with  it,  feel  the  authority  that  belongs  to  it  in  fact,  in 
order  that  he  may  have  power  to  do  justice  at  all  to  its  presence. 
What  could  such  a  spirit  as  that  of  Voltaire,  be  expected  to  un- 
derstand of  the  apostle  Paul?  Who  would  trust  the  rationalism 
of  Priestley,  or  tlie  abstract  spiritualism  of  the  Quaker,  in  any 
exegetical  judgment,  bearing  on  the  question  of  our  Lord's  divi- 
nity in  the  first  case,  or  on  the  true  idea  of  the  Church  in  the 
second?  All  turns  on  the  stand-point  of  the  interpreter,  and  the 
comprehensive  catholicity  of  his  view.  He  must  be  consciously 
within  the  horizon,  and  underneath  the  broad  canopy,  of  the 
new  supernatural  creation,  he  is  called  to  contemplate  ;  and  then 
each  part  of  it  must  be  studied  and  expounded,  in  full  view  of  its 
relations  to  every  other  part,  and  to  the  glorious  structure  in 
which  all  are  comprehended  as  a  whole.  This  is  the  true  con- 
ception of  biblical  theology.  Only  under  this  form,  can  bible 
proof,  as  it  is  called,  in  favour  of  or  against  any  doctrine,  be  en- 
titled to  the  least  respect. 

So  in  the  case  before  us,  the  sacramental  question  can  never 
be  settled  by  the  formula  of  institution.  This  is  my  body,  This 
is  my  blood,  separately  considered ;  nor  by  any  other  single  text 
under  the  same  abstract  view.  The  interpretation  of  every  such 
text,  depends  invariably  and  necessarily  on  the  theological  posi- 
tion, from  which  its  bearings  and  relations  are  observed.  Hence 
it  means  one  thing  to  the  Romanist,  another  thing  to  the  Lu- 
theran, and  something  different  altogether  to  the  rationalistic 
Socinian.  The  idea  of  settling  the  sense  of  the  eucharist  by  the 
words  of  institution  separately  taken,  is  perfectly  quixotic. 

It  has  been  said  indeed,  that  this  ambiguousness  constitutes 
itself  a  strong  presumption  against  the  idea  of  any  special  mys- 
tery in  the  ordinance ;  since  more  care  must  have  been  em- 
ployed, on  this  supposition,  to  guard  the  institution  from  being 
misunderstood.  But  every  such  judgment,  proceeds  on  a  wrong 
theory  of  the  Christian  revelation  itself,  as  we  have  already  at- 
tempted to  show.  Why  is  not  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  cate- 
gorically asserted  ?  Why  have  we  not  the  constitution  of  Christ's 
person,  succinctly  described  as  in  the  Westminster  Catechism? 
Why  is  it  not  taught  in  so  many  words  that  infants  are  proper 
subjects  for  baptism,  and  that  the  first  day  of  the  week  was  to  be 
substituted  for  the  seventh,  as  the  Christian  sabbath  ?  Simply, 
we  answer,  because  the  Christian  revelation  is  constructed  on  a 

21* 


246  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

wholly  difterent  plan,  infinitely  more  worthy  of  its  author,  and 
infinitely  better  adapted  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  own  glori- 
ous end. 

The  Lord's  Supper  can  never  be  understood,  except  as  viewed 
in  its  relations  to  the  whole  system  of  truth,  which  has  been 
brought  to  light  by  the  bible.  The  view  we  have  already  taken 
then,  of  the  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  his  mystical  rela- 
tion to  the  Church,  has  all  served  only  to  open  the  way  for 
placing  the  ordinance  in  its  true  and  proper  light. 

The  great  difficulty  here  is,  in  rising  to  a  full,  abiding  sense 
of  the  truth  and  reality  of  Christianity  itself,  as  a  supernatural 
constitution  permanently  established  under  this  character  in  the 
world.  We  are  too  prone,  to  restrict  the  idea  of  supernatural 
interposition  in  this  case,  to  the  single  historical  person  of  Jesus 
Christ  himself;  an  error  that  tends  directly  to  throw  a  certain 
magical,  docetic  character,  over  the  whole  fact  of  the  incarna- 
tion, and  to  sink  Christianity  at  the  same  time  to  the  form  of  a 
mere  abstract  spiritualism  in  the  sphere  of  the  flesh.  For  it  is 
one  thing  to  be  spiritualistic  in  the  flesh,  and  quite  another  thing 
to  be  divmely  real  in  the  Spirit.  We  must  not  sunder  the  super- 
natural in  Christ,  from  the  life  of  his  body  which  is  the  Church. 
Christianity  is  strictly  and  truly  a  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus ; 
a  supernatural  order  of  life,  revealed  and  made  constant  and 
abiding,  in  the  midst  of  the  course" of  nature  as  it  stood  before. 
As  such,  it  includes  resources,  powers,  divine  realities,  not  only 
peculiar  to  itself,  but  altogether  transcending  the  common  na- 
tural constitution  of  human  life.  All  this,  at  the  sam'e  time, 
under  a  true  historical  form.  The  supernatural  has  become 
itself  natural;  not  in  the  way  however  of  putting  off  its  own  dis- 
tinction, as  compared  with  what  nature  had  been  before,  and 
still  is  under  any  other  view;  but  by  fiiUing  into  the  regular 
process  of  the  world's  history,  so  as  to  form  to  the  end  of  time 
indeed  its  true  central  stream.  To  question  the  presence  of 
such  supernatural  resources  and  powers  in  Christianity,  when 
we  look  at  it  properly,  is  to  question  in  fact  the  revelation  of  the 
supernatural  in  Christ  himself  Either  we  must  fall  back  at 
best  to  the  old  Ebionitic  stand-point  of  Christian  Judaism ;  or 
we  must  allow  that  the  power  of  a  truly  divine  life,  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  Spirit  as  distinguished  from  the  constitution  of  mere 
nature,  is  in  the  Church,  not  transiently  and  sporadically  as 
under  the  old  Testament,  but  with  real  immanent  constancy,  as 
forming  the  inmost  character  of  the  Church  itself 

The  supernatural,  as  thus  made  permanent  and  historical  in 
the  Church,  must,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  correspond  with  the 
form  of  the  supernatural,  as  it  appeared  originally  in  Christ  him- 
self.    For  it  is  all  one  and  the  same  life  or  constitution.     The 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  247 

Church  must  have  a  true  theanthropic  character  throughout. 
Thefunion  of  the  divine  and  human  in  her  constitution,  must  be 
inward  and  real,  a  continuous  revelation  of  God  in  the  flesh, 
exalting  this  last  continuously  into  the  sphere  of  the  Spirit. 

Let  all  this  be  properly  apprehended  and  felt,  and  it  cannot 
fail  at  once  to  exert  a  powerful  influenceover  our  judgment  with 
regard  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  For  it  is  plain,  that  this  ordinance 
holds  a  central  place  in  the  general  system  of  Christian  worship. 
The  solemn  circumstances  under  which  it  was  originally  insti- 
tuted, the  light  in  which  it  has  always  been  regarded  in  the 
Church,  and  the  very  instinct,  we  may  say,  of  our  religious  na- 
ture itself,  which  no  rationalism  can  effectually  suppress,  all  con- 
spire to  show,  that  it  forms  in  truth  the  inmost  sanctuary  of 
religion,  and  the  most  direct  and  close  approach  we  are  ever 
called  to  make  into  the  divine  presence.  The  mystery  of  Chris- 
tianity is  here  concentrated  into  a  single  visible  transaction,  by 
which  it  is  made  as  it  were  transparent  to  the  senses,  and  caused 
to  pass  before  us  in  immediate  living  representation.  No  matter 
how  poor  may  be  the  general  view  entertained  of  the  gospel, 
even  for  the  lowest  rationalistic  spiritualism  itself,  the  Lord's 
Supper,  (if  it  be  not  discarded  entirely,  as  with  the  unhappy 
Quaker,)  constitutes  the  most  significant  and  impressive  exhibi- 
tion of  the  grace  of  the  New  Testament;  the  most  graphic  pic- 
ture, at  least,  if  nothing  more,  of  the  salvation  which  has  been 
procured  for  us  by  the  Saviour's  sufferings  and  death.  All  that 
is  wanted,  then,  to  make  it  a  true  sacrament  to  our  view — the 
seal  as  well  as  the  sign  of  the  invisible  grace  it  represents — is 
that  we  should  have  a  true  and  full  persuasion  of  the  supernatu- 
ral character  of  Christianity  itself,  as  a  permanent  and  not  simply 
transient  fact  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Low  views  of  the 
sacrament  betray  invariably  a  low  view  of  the  mystery  of  the  in- 
carnation itself,  and  a  low  view  of  the  Church  also,  as  that  new 
and  higher  order  of  life,  in  which  the  power  of  this  mystery  con- 
tinues to  reveal  itself  through  all  ages.  Those  who  entertain 
such  views  may  claim  the  credit  of  more  than  common  spiritu- 
ality ;  it  may  be  their  object  professedly  to  exalt  the  character  of 
Christ,  by  sinking  the  thought  of  all  that  is  outward  and  mate- 
rial, in  order  to  make  more  room,  as  they  dream,  for  his  being 
honoured  in  a  higher  form.  So  indeed  it  has  ever  been.  The 
enemies  of  the  sacraments  have  always  affected  to  be  more  spi- 
ritual than  others.  And  who  were  such  sticklers  for  the  highest 
order  of  spirituality  in  the  early  Church,  as  the  Gnostics,  who  at 
the  same  time  turned  the  whole  fact  of  the  incarnation  itself  into 
a  mere  docetic  abstraction.  Such  spiritualism,  as  it  begins  in 
the  flesh  in  fact,  and  never  gets  beyond  it,  even  in  its  highest 
flights,  is  sure  to  end  in  it  also  palpably  at  the  last.  On  the  other 


248  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

hand,  let  the  great  fact  of  the  incarnation  be  apprehended  with 
fuU'faith,  as  a  world  fact — the  centre  of  all  history — the  fountain 
of  a  new  creation,  which  is  still  present  and  progressive,  not 
fantastically,  but  in  the  way  of  actual  human,  historical  develop- 
ment, in  the  Church ;  let  it  be  felt  that  the  Church  is,  in  very 
deed,  the  depository  and  continuation  of  the  Saviour's  thean- 
thropic  life  itself,  and  as  such  a  truly  supernatural  constitution, 
in  which  powers  and  resources  wholly  transcending  the  common 
order  of  the  world  are  constantly  at  hand,  involving  a  real  inter- 
communion and  interpenetration  of  the  human  and  the  divine  ; 
let  all  this,  I  say,  be  fdt,  and  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  natu- 
rally and  necessarily,  at  the  same  time,  we  must  be  led  to  see 
the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Eucharist,  epitome  as  it  is  of  the  mys- 
tery of  the  Christian  salvation  itself,  in  a  corresponding  light. 

And  is  not  this,  it  may  be  asked,  the  only  true  and  right  posi- 
tion for  coming  to  any  just  judgment  in  the  case?    Is  not  Chris- 
tianity in  fact  such  a  supernatural  constitution,  under  a  true 
historical  form  in  the  world?     And  may  the  man  be  trusted  to 
interpret  the  sense  of  its  mysteries,  who  does  not  feel  this?  Shall 
I   go  to  the  spiritualistic  Gnostic,  or  Anabaptist,  or  (Quaker,  to 
learn  the  manner  of  Christ's  presence  in  the  Church  ?     Shall  I 
ask  the  rationalist  Ammon,  or  Wegscheider,  or  Paulus,  or  some 
rationalizing  Grotius  or  Macknight,  to  explain  to  me  the  words 
of  institution,  in  the  sacrament  of  Christ's  body  and  blood?  Just 
as  reasonably  might  I  study  Paul  at  the  feet  of  Voltaire.     The 
very  first  and  most  indispensable  condition  to  a  safe  and  sound 
judgment  here,  is  that  we  should  stand  in  the  full  sense  of  what 
is  comprehended  in  the  idea  of  Christianity  itself,  as  a  true  and 
real  revelation  of  the  supernatural  in  the  flesh.     This  is  of  more 
account  in  the  case,  than  all  exegetical  helps  besides.    This  was 
emphatically  the  position  of  the  primitive  Church ;   and  it  was 
this  right  standpoint  in  relation  to  divine  truth  no  doubt,  more 
than  any  thing  else,  which  served  in  the  case  of  the  first  Chris- 
tians, to   set  both  the  doctrines   and  institutions  of  Christianity 
in  proper  view,  if  not  at  once  for  the  understanding,  at  least  for 
the  heart  and  the  inward  life.     They  saw  in  Christ  a  new  order 
of  life,  divine  and  yet  most  perfectly  human  at  the  same  time, 
really  active  in  the  flesh  by  the  Church,  and  destined  to  triumph, 
(in  a  very  little  while,  as  they  supposed,)  in  the  form  of  a  true 
earthly  millenrt'ium,  over  the  entire  state  of  the  world  as  it  stood 
before.     They  felt  that  in  the  sphere  of  this  new  creation,  they 
were  mystically  joined  to  the  Saviour  himself,  by  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  so  as  to  participate  in  his  very  nature  and  life. 
And  how  then  was   it  possible,  that   they  should  look  upon  the 
communion  of  his  body  and  blood  in  the  Lord's  Supper  as  a  mere, 
sgn  or  token,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  these  terms  ?     In 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  249 

the  nature  of  the  case,  they  could  see  in  it  nothing  less  than  a 
real  communication  of  the  Saviour's  life  itself;  and  they  under- 
stood, of  course,  and  interpreted,  the  words  of  institution  ac- 
cordingly, as  conveying  the  assurance  of  this  supernatural  grace, 
to  be  perpetuated  in  the  ordinance  to  the  end  of  time. 

As  Christianity  fmds  a  general  adumbration  in  the  religion  of 
the  Old  Testament,  so  its  sacraments  in  particular  are  specifi- 
cally prefigured  in  the  types  of  Circumcision  and  the  Passover. 
In  the  case  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  a  still  more  remote  analogy  is 
presented  to  our  view  by  Paganism  itself,  in  those  sacred  feasts 
which  it  has  been  customary  in  all  ages  to  hold  in  coimectioa 
with  sacrifices.  Under  all  systems  of  worship,  religion  has  ever 
been  made  to  centre  in  the  altar  and  the  ofiering  of  sacrifice; 
while,  by  partaking  of  what  was  thus  offered,  the  worshipper  was 
supposed  to  come  into  the  nearest  communion  with  the  object  of 
his  worship.^  The  sacrifice,  to  serve  its  purpose  in  full,  must  be 
eaten,  and  thus  united  in  the  most  intimate  and  living  way  with 
the  person  of  him,  who  sought  to  propitiate  the  favour  of  heaven 
by  its  means.  Whatever  of  value  or  merit  it  comprehended, 
became  available  through  an  actual  participation  of  the  sacrifice 
itself,  in  communion  with  the  altar.  The  same  idea,  variously 
modified,  may  be  said  to  run  through  the  entire  sacrificial  sys- 
tem of  the  Old  Testament.  It  is  most  strikingly  exhibited,  how- 
ever, in  the  institution  of  the  Passover. 

The  Passover  was  instituted  (Ex.  xii.  1-27)  in  connection 
with  the  memorable  deliverance  of  the  children  of  Israel,  on  the 
night  when  the  Lord  smote  the  first-born  of  the  land  of  Egypt ; 
and  was  ordained  to  be  observed  afterwards  perpetually  in  com- 
memoration of  this  event.  The  offering  in  the  case  was  required 
to  be  a  lamb  icitliout  blemish.  The  victim  must  be  slain,  as  an 
offering  for  sin,  and  its  blood  sprinkled  on  the  door  posts;  where 
it  becarpe  an  atonement  or  satisfaction,  in  view  of  which  the 
plague  was  not  permitted  to  enter  the  dwelling  thus  protected. 
"  The  blood  shall  be  to  you  for  a  token  upon  the  houses  where 
ye  are ;  and  when  I  see  the  blood,  I  will  pass  over  you,  and  the 
plague  shall  not  be  upon  you  to  destroy  you,  when  I  smite  the 
and  of  Egypt."  But  it  was  not  enough  that  this  outward  exhi- 
bition of  the  blood  should  take  place,  the  ordinance  made  it 
necessary  also  that  the  sacrifice  should  he  eaten.  In  this  case  at 
least,  more  was  intended  by  this  than  an  act  of  general  commu- 
nion with  God.  It  represented  the  necessity  of  a  true,  living 
conjunction  with  the  sacrifice  itself  The  lamb  whose  life  was 
poured  out  as  an  offering  for  sin,  must  be  itself  incorporated  as 
it  were  with  the  life  of  the  worshipper,  to  give  him  a  fair  and 

i 

*  Scheibcl.     Das  Abendmahl  des  Ilcrrn,  chap.  1. 


250  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

full  claim  on  the  value  of  its  vicarious  death.  It  became  to  him 
an  atonement,  by  entering  really  into  his  person.  It  lay  in  the 
very  nature  of  the  economy  itself,  that  all  this  should  be  in  a 
merely  outward  way.  The  atonement  itself  was  only  a  type  or 
shadow;  and  the  union  with  the  victim  now  mentioned  was  but 
relative  and  imperfect  in  like  manner.  All  formed  an  adum- 
bration simply  of  the  glorious  mystery  of  redemption,  as  it  was 
afterwards  to  be  revealed  in  Christ. 

For  it  is  allowed  on  all  hands,  that  the  Passover,  as  it  con- 
tinued to  be  observed  afterwards,  was  more  than  a  mere  com- 
memoration of  the  deliverance  in  Egypt.  This  event  was  itself 
a  grand  type  of  the  spiritual  deliverance,  which  has  since  been 
accomplished  for  the  world  by  the  death  of  Christ ;  and  the 
paschal  celebration  accordingly,  in  calling  it  continually  to  mind, 
involved  a  prophetical  reference  continually  by  its  means  to  the 
coming  of  this  great  salvation.  It  involved  an  acknowledgment 
of  spiritual  need,  with  a  profession  of  faith  in  God's  covenanted 
grace,  as  it  was  to  be  revealed  in  due  time  for  the  removal  of 
sin;  and  for  the  true  Israelite,  it  carried  in  it  a  sure  pledge  at 
the  same  time  that  the  atoning  grace  it  represented  would  avail 
to  preserve,  him  personally  from  the  power  of  the  destroying 
anorel.  All  this  however  on  the  ground  of  an  actual  union  vvitii 
the  sacrifice  itself,  in  the  way  which  has  been  already  noticed. 
In  the  end,  the  shadow  found  its  full  sense  in  the  presence  of 
the  substance.  The  death  of  Jesus  formed  the  proper  end  of 
all  the  sacrifices,  and  of  the  paschal  offering  in  particular.  "  Be- 
hold," said  the  Baptist,  when  he  pointed  him  out  to  his  disciples, 
"  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  !"  So 
Paul  calls  him  expressly  our  Passover,  who  has  been  sacrificed 
for  us  (1  Cor.  v.  7).  This  is  still  more  expressively  signified 
however  by  the  Saviour  himself,  in  the  institution  of  the  Holy  Sup- 
per. By  his  own  appointment,  the  one  sacrament  was  formally 
substituted  for  the  other.  Thus  was  it  distinctly  signified,  that 
the  Passover  had  looked  forward  from  the  first  to  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ  as  the  true  atonement  for  sin  ;  and  that  it  ceased  accord- 
ingly to  have  afiy  meaning,  when  this  sacrifice  was  offered.  The 
sacrament  of  the  Passover  was  at  once  abolished  and  fulfilled,  in 
the  sacrament  of  Christ's  body  and  blood. 

The  two  institutions  then  are  to  be  considered  of  parallel 
character,  and  as  having  in  some  sense-  the  same  significance 
and  force.  Both  look  directly  to  the  broken  body  and  shed 
blood  of  the  Redeemer,  as  the  great  and  only  true  propitiation 
for  the  sins  of  the  world.  Their  relation  to  each  other  however, 
is  like  that  of  the  two  Testaments  in  general.  The  one  is  rela- 
tively only,  what  the  other  is  absolutely.  The  sacraments  of  the 
Old  Testament  are  no  proper  measure,  by  which  to  graduate 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  251 

directly  the  force  that  belongs  to  the  sacraments  of  the  New 
We  have  seen  already,  that  the  Old  Testament  made  nothina 
perfect.  Its  ordinances  and  ministrations  were  all  more  or  less 
shadowy  and  incomplete.  The  substance  of  their  sense  is  re- 
vealed only  in  Christ.  To  make  Baptism  no  more  than  Circum- 
cision or  the  Lord's  Supper  no  more  than  the  Passover,  is  to 
wrong  the  new  dispensation  as  really,  as  we  should  do  by  attri- 
buting to  the  levitical  priesthood  what  is  to  be  found  only  in 
him  who  is  a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedek.  The 
Passover  was  at  best  but  an  unreal  adumbration  of  the  grace  that 
IS  exhibited  to  us  in  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  was  a  picture  or 
sign  only  of  what  it  was  intended  to  represent;  not  a  sacrament 
at  all  indeed,  in  the  full  New  Testament  sense,  but  a  sacrament 
simply  in  prefiguration  and  type.  Still,  as  such  a  type,  it  is 
well  adapted  to  illustrate  the  true  force  of  the  higher  institution, 
in  which  ultimately  it  came  to  its  end. 

The  Lord's  Supper  was  instituted  under  circumstances,  which 
show  clearly  that  U  was  intended  to  take  up  into  itself,  (as  the 
comprehension  of  the  whole  idea  of  Christianity,)  the  full  typical 
import  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  might  be  said  to  find  its 
central  representation  in  the  Passover.  Through  this  sacrament 
in  particular  all  looked  forward  to  Che  great  sacrifice  of  Calvary, 
as  the  end  in  which  its  shadows  were  to  become  real.  That 
Sacrifice  was  now  reacfy  to  be  offered.  On  the  night  in  which  he 
was  betrayed — at  the  close  of  the  paschal  feast— with  his  sufferings 
in  full  view,  and  the  full  consciousness  at  the  same  time  of  the 
relation  in  \vhich  he  stood  to  the  old  dispensation  now  ready  to 
pass  away  in  his  person — our  Saviour  solemnly  took  bread, 
^blessed  and  brake  it,  and  gave  it  to  his  disciples,  and  said,  Take, 
eat;  this  is  my  hodij,  which  is  given  for  you  : — and  then  again 
the  cup,  saying,  This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  mifhlnod  which 
is^shed  for  you,  drink  ye  all  of  it,  (Matt.  xxvi.  2C-2:),  Luke  xxii. 
15-20).  Thus  was  instituted  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, in  the  room  of  the  Jewish  Passover,  for  the  use  of  the 
Church  in  all  following  time.  Now  it  is  only  necessary  to  have  • 
some  actual  sense  of  the  immeasurable  solemnity  of  tiie  occa- 
sion itself,  to  feel  how  perfectly  frigid  and  rationalistic  every 
view  must  be  that  can  find  nothing  more  in  the  words  of  insti- 
tution, than  that  this  ceremony  was  to  be  a  simple  conventional 
memorial  to  all  ages  of  the  Redeemer's  suflTerings  and  death. 
We  may  not  indeed  take  the  words  in  their  strictly  literal  sense, 
as  is  done  by  the  Church  of  Rome ;  but  we  have  just  as  little 
right  on  the  other  hand,  to  resolve  them  into  the  merest  com- 
mon-place  in  the  way  of  pretended  figure.  The  occasion  is  too 
solemn,  the  phraseology  too  strikingly  pregnant,  for  that.  Let 
due  regard  be  had  to  all  the  circumstances  of  the  transaction, 


252  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

and  it  will  be  impossible  to  avoid  the  feeling  that  it  requires  to 
be  understood  in  a  higher  sense  * 

What  the  Passover  signified  prophetically,  and  in  the  way  of 
shadow,  is  here  exhibited  under  the  character  of  a  real  and  ac- 
tually present  salvation.  For  the  paschal  lamb,  Christ  solemnly 
substitutes  himself.  The  Old  Testament  sacrament  is  made  to 
give  way  to  the  power  and  glory  of  the  actual  grace,  it  was  em- 
ployed to  foreshadow.  Participation  in  the  promise,  is  to  be- 
come now  particpatioh  in  the  fact  itself.  "This  is  the  Lord's 
Passover,"  said  Moses  to  the  Jews  at  the  time  of  its  institution  ; 
and  so  as  it  was  observed,  from  year  to  year  in  subsequent  time, 
this  word  was  still  repeated,  "Tt  is- the  sacrifice  of  the  Lord's 
Passover  who  passed  over  the  houses  of  the  children  of  Israel  in 
Eaypt,  when  he  smote  the  Egyptians  and  delivered  our  houses!" 
(Ex.  xii.  11,  27).  This  did  not  mean  of  course,  that  the  paschal 
elements  were  themselves  this  ancient  deliverance.  But  it  did 
mean,  that  they  were  something  more  than  a  mere  Fourth  of 
July  commemoration  in  the  case.  They  were,  in  pledge  and 
seal,  the  very  covenant  itself,  such  as  it  was,  which  that  occasion 
served  to  ratify,  as  the  shadow  of  blessings  to  come.     In  contrast 

*  To  estimate  at  all  the  force  of  our  Saviour's  words,  in  the  case  of  this 
solemn  institution,  it  is  above  all  things  necessary,  of  course,  that  we  should 
fiave  present  to  our  minds,  in  a  lively  way,  the  circumstances  under  which  all 
took  place.  That  most  wretched  rationalist,  Paulus  of  Heidelberg,  resolves 
the  whole  transaction  into  the  poorest  common-place  ;  by  supposing  that  i 
Jesus,  his  thoughts  full  of  the  violence  he  expected  to  suifer  shortly  atier,  | 
whilst  handing  round  to  his  disciples  the  broken  bread,  took  occasion  to  say,  ; 
mournfully,  of  the  suggestive  symbol,  It  is  my  body.  The  aftectmg  words  , 
made  an  indelible  impression  on  the  minds  of  all  present;  and  so  it  came  to 
pass  "  very  psychologically,"  we  are  told,  that  as  long  as  they  Fived,  when 
they  afterwards  broke  bread  together,  the  simple  association  served  power-  , 
fullv  to  recall  him  to  their  thoughts,  &c.  Co7nm.  in  Matt.  xx\i.  26.  And  yet 
Paiilus  affects  to  be  graphic,  too,  in  painting  the  scene  as  it  was,  i"  o^^r  to  ( 
show  us  how  natural  the  symbolical  and  hyperbolical  must  be  considered  in 
the  case !  At  such  exegesis,  we  mav  well  shudder.  But  may  we  not  tear  that 
there  is  oftentimes  an  approximation  towards  the  same  rationalistic  stand- 
point, where  the  ordinance  is  spoken  of  in  much  more  respectful  terms,  while 
at  the  same  time  its  whole  significance  is  tried  by  the  measure  of  common  or 
merely  human  relations  ?  No  occasion  could  well  be  more  solemn,  than  that 
which  gave  birth  to  the  holy  institution.  Let  the  circumstances  be  ielt.  Let 
tlie  truths  of  overwhelming  interest,  presented  by  our  Lord  in  his  last  dis- 
course with  his  disciples,  be  present  to  the  soul.  Let  the  calm,  divine  sell- 
possession  of  the  Son  of  Man,  the  past  and  the  future  all  in  clear  vision 
before  him,  be  distinctly  apprehended.  Let  it  be  felt,  that  a  new  creation 
was  in  fact  comprehended  in  his  person;  and  that  the  shadows  ot  all  past 
time  were  now  to  be  made  actual  in  the  reality  they  foretokened.  Let  it  be 
remembered  that  the  idea  of  the  atonement,  the  great  central  truth  ot  Chris- 
tianity, had  never  yet  been  distinctly  enunciated  by  Christ  himselt ;  but  was 
liere  first  proclaimed,  just  before  the  sacrifice  was  to  take  place,  under  a  tonn 
intended  to  lodge  it  in  the  heart  of  the  Christian  worship  to  the  end  of  time. 
Let  all  this  be  considered  and  felt,  and  then  how  poor  and  jejune  does  the 
interpretation  become,  which  can  find  nothing  beyond  a  cold  logical  figure  in 
the  actions  and  words  of  Christ,  as  presented  to  us  in  this  perpetual  sacra- 
ment  of  his  body  and  blood  ! 


BIBLICAL    ARGUMENT.  253 

with  all  this,  and  in  fulfilment  of  its  true  meaning  at  the  same 

time,  Christ,  with  direct  reference  to  his  own   expiatory  death 

now  immediately  at  hand,  makes  himself  over  to  his  disciples  in 

the  sacrament  of  the  Supper.     "  This  is  mi/  body,  broken  for 

you — this  cup  is  the  neio  covenant  in  my  blood,  shed  for  many, 

for  the  remission   of  sins."     Did   he  mean  that  the  elements 

themselves  were  his  body  and  his  blood,  literally  taken  ?     Of 

course  not.     Did  he  mean  then  only,  that  they  were  a  figure  of 

a  certain  truth,  comprehendedi  n  his  sufferings  and  death,  which 

the  mind  was  to  be  assisted  in  contemplating  and  embracing  in 

this  way?     More,  undoubtedly,  than  this.     Under  the  elements 

here  exhibited,  was  offered  truly  and  really  the  substance  itself 

of  which  the  Passover  was  only  a  type — that  is,  the  new  covenant 

in  Christ's  death,  as  that  in  which  was  verified  and  fulfilled  all 

that  lay  included  as  promise  merely  in  the  old.      This  is  the 

Lord's  Passover  in  its  last  and  most  true  sense — not  the  sacrifice 

of  a  typical  lamb  simply,  but  my  body,  my  blood — not  the  pledge 

and  seal  of  blessings  to  come,  but  the  new  covenant  itself,  the 

pledge  and  seal  of  blessings  already  come,  and   now  compre- 

I  hended  in  this  sacramental  transaction,  as  ordained  for  the  use 

I  of  the  Church,  to  the  end  of  time.     All  of  course  however  in  the 

I  way  of  a  living  connection  with  the  sacrifice  itself     The  bread 

and  wine  are  not  Christ's  flesh,  and  blood   as  such;  they  are 

I  only,  (but  this  in  a  real  objective  way),  the  new  covenant  in  his 

{death,  made  actual  by  pledge  and  seal  under  this  outward  form; 

;  still  a  participation  in  the  covenant,  requires  and  implies,  in  the 

nature  of  the  case,  a  participation  in  the  very  life,  by  which 

j  alone  the  expiatory  value  of  the  covenant  can  have  any  reality  or 

I  force.     The  paschal  lamb  must  be  eaten,  physically  incorporated 

svvith  the  life  of  the  worshipper,  to  give  him  part  in  the  covenant 

jof  which  it  was  the   seal.     A  fleshly  shadow  of  the  true  life 

I  union,  on  the  ground  of  which,  and  by  the  power  of  which  alone, 

I  we  can  ever  have  part  in  the  blessings  of  the  new  covenant  in 

jChrist's  blood.     Communion    with    the    covenant,    involves   of 

Inecessity  communion  with  the  sacrifice.     All  fleshly  conceptions 

['are  to  be  of  course  excluded.     The  case  calls  for  something 

higher  than  popish  transubstantiation,  or  the  kindred  doctrine  of 

the  old  Lutheran  Church.     "  It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth ; 

the  flesh  profiteth  nothing."     But  the  idea  of  a  true  participation 

in  Christ's  life,  as  the  necessary  condition  of  an  interest  in  his 

sufferings  and  death,  runs  clearly  through  the  whole  transaction. 

The  bread  is  given  to  be  eaten ;  the  wine  must  be  drunk.     To 

quote  the  words  of  another:  "The  breaking  of  the  bread  serves 

to  bring  into  view  Christ's  death  ;  the  eating  of  the  broken  bread 

is  a  symbol  that  this  death  is  appropriated  in  the  way  of  a  living 

tiiunion  with  the  Saviour  himself     As  however  Christ,  in  giving 
22 


254  THE    MYSTICAI.    PRESENCE. 

the  bread  to  eat  and  the  wine  to  drink,  declares  them  to  be  the 
pledge  of  the  new  covenant  itself  in  his  blood,  it  follows  that  the 
bread  and  wine  are  not  simply  symbols,  but  that  they  serve  to 
place  him  who  eats  and  drinks,  in  real  communion  with  the 
atonement  through  his  death.  And  since  such  communion  with 
Christ's  death  can  have  no  place  without  a  life-communion  (Le- 
bensgemeinschaft)  with  Christ  himself,  or  since  in  other  words 
the  new  covenant  holds  in  the  form  of  a  real  inward  and  living 
fellowship  only,  it  follows  again  that  the  Lord's  Supper  involves 
for  the  worthy  participant  a  true,  personal,  central  communica- 
tion and  union  with  Christ's  actual  life."  We  have  in  it  the 
same  fact  that  is  presented  to  us  in  those  memorable  words 
spoken  at  Capernaum,  to  which  we  have  already  attended,  and 
which  connect  themselves  irresistibly  with  the  institution  of  the 
wonderful  ordinance :  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of 
Man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you! 

"  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,"  says  the  apostle,  "  is 
it  not  the  communion  of  the  blood  of  Christ?  the  bread  which 
we  break  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ,"  (1 
Cor.  X.  16).  He  does  not  mean  to  explain  the  nature  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  in  these  words,  but  makes  his  appeal  in  the  case 
simply  to  the  view  generally  entertained  of  the  institution  among 
Christians  at  the  time.  The  representation  is  general,  and 
gives  no  new  light  on  the  mode  of  our  communication  with  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament.  But  this  much  it 
does  most  certainly  imply,  that  the  communion  is  something 
more  than  figurative  or  moral.  It  is  the  communion  of  Christ's 
body  and  blood — a  real  participation  in  his  true  humaji  life,  as 
the  one  only  and  all-sufficient  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 
"  Figurative  language,  1  confess,"  says  Calvin,  "only  let  not  the 
truth  of  the  figure  be  put  out  of  the  way — that  is,  let  the  thing 
itself  also  be  present,  to  be  apprehended  by  the  soul  as  really  as 
the  outward  elements  are  by  the  mouth." 

The  passage,  Eph.  v.  22 — 82,  has  been  already  noticed,  in 
connection  with  the  general  subject  of  the  mystical  union.  It 
is  proper  to  add  here,  however,  that  as  it  includes  a  distinct 
reference  to  the  sacrament  of  Baptism,  (v.  26,  27),  as  it  is 
allowed  also  by  the  best  commentators  to  regard  in  the  close 
(v.  30 — 32)  not  merely  the  general  communion  of  Christ  with 
believers,  but  particularly  at  the  same  time  his  special  com- 
munion with  them  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Holy  Supper.  Such 
is  the  view  of  Theodorct,  Calvin,  Bcza,  Calovius,  Grotius,  fully 
approved  and  endorsed  in  our  own  time  by  such  men  as  Holz- 
Jiausen,  Hairless,  and  Olshausen.     Calvin  remarks ;  "  Paul  de- 

*  Ebrard,     Das  Dogma  von  heil.     Abendmahl.  vol.  i.,  p.  119. 


BIBLICAL   ARGUMENT.  2o3 

vscribes  here  that  union  we  have  with  Christ,  of  which  the  sym- 
bol and  pledge  is  given  us  in  the  Holy  Supper.  Some  indeed 
complain  that  the  application  of  the  passage  to  the  Supper 
is  forced,  since  there  is  no  mention  here  of  the  Supper,  but 
only  of  marriage;  in  this  however  they  are  altogether  mistaken. 
For  whereas  they  allow  only  a  commemoration  of  Christ's  death 
in  the  Supper,  and  will  not  admit  an  actual  communication, 
such  as  we  assert  from  his  own  words,  we  urge  against  them 
this  testimony :  Paul  declares  that  we  are  members  of  Christ's 
body,  of  his  flesh  and  of  his  bones.  Need  we  wonder  then  that 
he  gives  us  his  body  to  partake  of  in  the  Supper,  that  it  may  be 
to  us  the  aliment  of  eternal  life?  Thus  we  show,  that  we  teach 
no  other  representation  in  the  Supper,  than  that  whose  truth  and 
power  are  proclaimed  by  Paul."  Harless,  one  of  the  coolest 
and  most  circumspect  of  commentators,  holds  the  reference  to 
the  Lord's  supper,  in  the  passage  to  be  beyond  doubt ;  not  so 
much  on  the  ground  of  any  particular  expressions  separately 
taken,  as  in  view  of  the  concinnity  which  is  thus  imparted  to 
the  whole  thought  from  v.  23  to  32,  in  full  harmony  at  the  same 
time  with  the  proper  interpretation  of  the  passage  in  its  details. 
The  general  thought  is  the  close,  constant  communion  in  which 
Christ,  as  the  Redeemer,  stands  with  his  Church.  Reference  is 
made  first  to  Baptism,  under  this  view,  as  the  pledge  and  seal  of 
the  intimate  relation.  From  this  there  is  then  an  advance, 
(for  that  is  evidently  the  character  of  the  representation),  to  the 
other  sacrament,  in  which  the  same  mystery  is  still  more  strik- 
ingly exhibited  and  confirmed.  "  If  we  have  come  to  under- 
stand the  nature  of  the  Lord's  Supper,"  says  Harless,  "  as  un- 
folded in  the  Scriptures  and  held  by  the  Protestant  Church,  we 
shall  be  forced  to  allow  that  the  image  itself,  which  is  employed 
by  the  apostles,  carries  us  irresistibly  to  this  institution  as  its 
proper  object." 

The  whole  subject  the  apostle  pronounces,  in  this  connection, 
*'  a  great  mystery."  This  itself  is  sufficient  to  overthrow  the 
rationalistic  view,  by  which  it  is  attempted  to  resolve  the  whole 
representation  into  a  common  figure,  denoting  nothing  more 
than  the  close  correspondence  in  which  Christ  stands  with  the 
souls  of  his  people.  If  ever  there  was  a  clear  case  in  exege- 
ries,  we  might  seem  to  have  it  here.  The  union  of  the  be- 
liever with  Christ,  by  which  the  two  are  said  to  be  constituted 
one  flesh,  (as  they  are  elsewhere  denominated  one  Spirit),  and 
which  the  apostle  in  tJiis  view,  with  such  deliberate  reflection — 
pausing  as  it  were  to  weigh  the  import  of  all  he  had  said — pro- 
claims a  great  mystery;  this  union,  I  say,  ?nust  be  real  in  the 
form  in  which  it  is  here  presented,  involving  an  actual  commu- 
nity of  life  with   the  glorified   Son  of  Man  in  his  whole  person. 


256  THE    MYSTICAL    PRESENCE. 

"  They  are  preposterous,"  says  Calvin,  "  who  allow  in  this  mat- 
ter nothing  more,  than  they  have  been  able  to  reach  with  the 
measure  of  their  understanding.  When  they  deny  that  the 
flesh  and  blood  of  Christ  are  exhibited  to  us  in  the  Holy  Sup- 
per, Dijine  the  mode,  they  say,  or  you  will  not  convince  us.  But 
as  for  myself,  I  am  filled  with  amazement  at  the  greatness  of  the 
mystery.  Nor  am  I  ashamed,  with  Paul,  to  confess  in  admira- 
tion my  own  ignorance.  For  how  much  better  is  that,  than  to 
extenuate  with  my  carnal  sense  what  the  apostle  pronounces  a 
high  mystery !" 


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T'^^RF^RO^I^^^nfl''^  COMMENTARY  ON 
J-  IHJ^  HOLY  BIBLE;  containing  the  Text  accord 
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retaining  every  useful  thought;  the  Practical  Observa- 
tions of  Rev.  Thomas  Scott,  D.  D.;  with  extensive  ex- 
planatory critical,  and  philological  Notes,  selected  from 
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(     2     ) 

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American  publisher.  Itis  well  printed,  on  fine  paper,  and  neatly 
and  durably  bound.  The  Maps  are  done  in  a  new  style,  on 
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specimens  of  the  art.  The  Engravings,  also  on  steel,  (Frontis- 
pieces and  Vignette  Titles,)  have  been  done  by  the  first  artists, 
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from  paintings  by  the  old  masters ;  the  wood-cuts  are  all  illustra- 
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of  the  Bible,  and  cannot  but  be  useful  and  acceptable,  and  are 
a  novelty  in  such  a  work.  On  the  whole,  it  is  believed  all 
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to  the  country,  "  and  a  truly  national  worky  It  is  admh'ably 
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who  desires  to  study  the  Scriptures  understandingly,  while  to  the 
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Minister  of  the  Gospel,  a  treasure.  To  the  latter,  the  publishers 
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(  3  ) 
sources  opened  by  a  range  of  as  many  as  a  hundred  authors; 
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siveness,  by  too  great  minuteness.  The  design  has  been  to  draw 
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and  the  times,  and  suited  to  the  wants  of  tlie  great  body  of  the 
people.  To  this  end,  all  words  in  foreign  languages  are  "omitted 
in  the  critical  notes  and  quotations. 

Each  of  the  leading  Commentaries  forming  the  main  body 
of  this  work  has  its  peculiar  advantaaes,  and  its  friends  and 
admirers;  and  each  has  its  defects.  It  is  hoped  that  here,  the 
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To  accomplish  this  object,  great  care  has  been  taken.  The  TexU 
according  to  the  authorized  version  in  common  use,  is  arranged 
in  a  column  by  itself,  to  admit  of  its  being  read  independently 
of  all  remarks ;  to  this  are  added  the  pooular  and  full  Mar- 
ginal References  of  Scott,  entire;  Henry's  Exposition  or  Com- 
mentary will  be  found  slightly  abridged,  or,  more  properly, 
perhaps,  condensed;  but  every  useful  and  important  thought 
IS  retained,  and  in  his  own  language,  and  this  is  also  placed  by 
Itself  in  columns  parallel  with  and  by  the  side  of  the  text,  so 
as  to  be  read  independendy  of  all  the  rest.  At  the  end  of  every 
suitable  division  of  the  text,  are  placed  the  Practical  Observa- 
tions of  Scott,  arranged  separately  as  in  his  own  work ;  and  at 
the  bottom  of  the  page  is  a  large  body  of  explanatory,  illustrative, 
and  Critical  Notes,  containing  whatever  in  addition  is  valuable 
in  Scott  and  Doddridge,  with  copious  selections  from  Adam 
Clarke,  Gill,  Burder,  Calmet,  Rosenmueller,  Bloomfield  and 
many  other  authors.  Wherever  it  is  practicable,  wood  engravings, 
illustrative  of  the  subjects,  are  introduced.  Thus  an  amalga- 
mation of  the  different  authors  is  carefully  guarded  against 
and  each  reader  may  often  consult  his  own  favourite.  In 
the  notes,  also,  the  manners  and  customs,  natural  history, 
geography,  botany,  &c.,  of  the  Bible,  are  fully  illustrated. 

It  is  therefore  believed  that  this  work  offers  to  the  reader 
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Scott,  and  Doddridge  themselves  would,  even  could  they  altoge- 
ther be  procured  at  the  same  expense;  as  he  is  saved  the  trou- 
ble of  turning  over  and  searching  for  a  passage  in  three  different 
works,  and  finding  much  of  the  same  matter  in  all,  besides  having 
the  additional  views  of  many  other  esteemed  writers. 


(  *  ) 

In  the  abridgment  of  Henry,  great  carefulness  has  been  useJ, 
so  that  his  most  jealous  friends  should  not  be  offended  by  any 
liberties  taken ;  and  it  is  confidently  believed  it  will  be  found 
much  more  pleasant  reading  in  this  form  than  in  the  original. 

On  the  doctrines^  it  may  confidently  be  asserted  that  Henry, 
Scott,  and  Doddridge  speak  their  own  opinions  unadulterated 
and  entire.  Where  any  thing  has  been  omitted  from  Scolt,  it 
was  because  it  was  anticipated  in  the  remarks  of  Henry. 

In  the  mechanical  department,  the  publishers  have  exerted 
themselves  to  the  utmost  to  present  the  work  in  a  handsome 
and  durable  form,  and  have  spared  no  pains  nor  expense  to  pro- 
cure materials,  having  imported  every  work  which  they  could 
learn  would  be  of  essential  service  to  the  Editor.  In  preparing 
the  work,  also,  the  Editor  has  had  access  to  two  or  three  of 
the  most  valuable  Libraries  in  America. 

To  render  the  Comprehensive  Commentary  the  most  com- 
plete work  of  the  kind  in  the  English  language,  and  as  perfect 
a  help  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  as  possible,  the  publishers 
have  issued  a  sixth  or  supplementary  volume,  uniform  in  size, 
paper,  binding,  and  price,  with  the  regular  volumes,  and  super- 
intended by  the  same  editor.  Its  principal  contents  are  as 
follow : 

I.  A  VERY  FULL  AND  COMPLETE    ALPHABETICAL    InDEX  of  all 

the  matters  discussed  in  the  Commentary.  The  importance 
of  this  must  be  obvious.  It  will  enable  any  one  to  turn,  readily 
and  without  delay,  to  every  passage  in  the  Bible  and  Commen- 
tary, where  any  given  fact,  opinion,  or  sentiment  is  touched  upon ; 
thus  bringing  together,  for  comparison,  on  each  topic,  all  the 
different  remarks  scattered  through  more  than  4000  pages ; 
saving  much  time,  which  must,  for  want  of  such  a  help,  be  con- 
sumed in  tedious  researches,  oftentimes  in  a  great  degree  fruitless. 
In  this  respect,  there  is  a  great  deficiency  in  the  works  of  Henry, 
Scott,  Clarke,  and  others,  which  any  person  who  has  had 
occasion  to  consult  them  extensively,  must  have  frequently 
felt.  In  such  extended  works,  an  index  of  this  kind  is  invalu- 
able, not  only  to  the  Minister  and  Sabbath  School  Teacher,  but 
to  every  student  of  the  Bible.  How  often,  indeed,  does  it 
happen,  that  one  wishes  to  consult  the  Commentary  on  some 
subject,  and  to  examine  it  fully  and  in  detail,  when  the  remarks 
upon  it  may  be  scattered  through  all  the  volumes,  and  based, 
perhaps,  upon  twenty  different  passages  of  Scripture,  to  find 
which  would  require  much  time  and  careful  attention?     Such 


(     5     ) 

an  Index  would  at  once  place  them   all  as  it  were  under  the 
eye. 

II.  A  New,  Full,  and  Complete  Concordance;  illustrated 
with  monumental,  traditional,  and  oriental  engravings,  founded 
on  Butter wortli's,  with  CrKden's  Definitions;  forming,  it  is 
believed,  on  many  accounts,  a  more  valuable  work  than  either 
Butterworth,  Cruden,  or  any  other  similar  book  in  the  language. 
The  value  of  a  Concordance  is  now  generally  understood,  and 
those  who  have  used  one  consider  it  indispensable  in  connexion 
with  the  Bible. 

III.  A  Guide  to  the  Reading  and  Study  .of  the  Bible; 
being  Carpenter's  valuable  Biblical  Companion,  lately  published 
in  London,  containing  a  complete  History  of  the  Bible,  and 
forming  a  most  excellent  introduction  to  its  study.  It  embraces 
the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  Jewish  antiquities,  manners, 
customs,  arts,  Natural  History,  (fee  ,  of  the  Bible,  with  Notes 
and  Engravings  added. 

IV.  Complete  Biographies  of  Henry,  by  Williams  ;  Scott, 
BY  HIS  Son;  Doddridge, by  Orton;  with  sketches  of  the  lives 
and  characters,  and  notices  of  the  works  of  the  writers  on  the 
Scriptures,  who  are  quoted  in  the  Commentary,  living  and 
dead,  American  and  foreign.  This  part  of  the  volume  not 
only  affords  a  large  quantity  of  interesting  and  useful  reading  for 
pious  families,  but  will  also  be  a  source  of  gratification  to  all 
those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  cmisulting  the  Commentary, — 
every  one  naturally  feeling  a  desire  to  know  some  particulars  of 
the  lives  and  characters  of  those  whose  opinions  he  seeks. 
Appended  to  this  part  will  be  a  Bihliotheca  Biblica,  or  list  of 
the  best  works  on  the  Bible,  of  all  kinds,  arranged^under  their 
appropriate  heads. 

V.  A  Complete  Index  of  the  matter  contained  in  the  Bible 
Text. 

VI.  A  Symbol  Dictionary.  A  very  comprehensive  and  valu- 
able Dictionary  of  Scripture  Symbols,  (occupying  'ahoui  fifty -six 
closely  printed  pages,)  by  'J'homas  Wemyss,  (author  of  "  Biblical 
Gleanings,"  &;c.)  Comprising  Daubuz,  Lancaster,  Hutche- 
son,  &c. 

VIL  The  work  contains  several  other  Articles,  Indexes, 
Tables,  &c.,  &c.,  and  is, 

VIII.  Illustrated  by  a  large  Plan  of  Jerusalem,  identi- 
fying, as  far  as  tradition,  &:c.,  go,  the  original  sites,  drawn  on 
the   spot,   by    F.    Catherwood,    of  London,    architect.     Also, 

1* 


{     6    ) 

two  steel  engravings  of  Portraits  of  seven  foreign  and  eight 
American  Theological  writers,  and  numerous  wood  engravings. 
The  whole  forms  a  desirable  and  necessary  accompaniment 
to  the  original  work,  and  affords  a  great  fund  of  instruction  for 
the  use  not  only  of  Clergymen  and  Sabbath  School  Teachers, 
but  also  for  families.  When  the  great  amount  of  matter  it  must 
contain  is  considered,  it  will  be  deemed  exceedingly  cheap, 
and  COULD  not  be  afforded,  at  the  price  proposed,  ex- 
cept IN  CONNEXION  WITH  THE  COMMENTARY,  the  ValuC  of  whicll 

it  greatly  enhances. 

iCj^The  work  is  bound  and  lettered  exactly  to  match  the 
Commentary,  forming  a  sixth  volume.  Some  copies  are  also 
bound  without  the  index  to  the  Commentary,  and  published 
under  the  title  of  "A  COMPANION  TO  THE  BIBLE," 
designed  to  accompany  the  Family  Bible,  or  Henry's,  Scott's, 
Clarke's,  Gill's,  or  other  Commentaries. 


(     7     ) 
NOTICES  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

OF  THE 

COMPREHENSIVE  COMMENTARy. 


The  Publishers  select  the  following,  from  the  testimonials  they  havo 
received  as  to  the  value  of  the  work; — 
We  the  Subscribers  having  examined  the  volume  of  the  Comprehensive 
Commentary,  just  issued  from  the  press  of  Messrs.  Fessenden  &  Co.,  and 
highly  approving  its  character,  would  cheerfully  and  confidently  re- 
commend it  as  containing  more  matter  and  more  advantnges  than  any 
other  with  which  we  are  acquainted;  and,  considering  the  expense  in- 
curred, and  the  excellent  manner  of  its  mechanical  execution,  we  believe 
it  to  be  one  of  the  cheapest  works  ever  issued  from  the  press.  We  hope 
the  publishers  will  be  sustained  by  a  liberal  patronage,  in  their  expensive 
and  useful  undertaking.  We  should  be  pleased  to  learn  that  every  fa- 
mily in  the  United  States  had  procured  a  copy. 

B.  B.  WISNER,  D.  D.  Secretary  of  Am.  Board  of  Com.  for  For.  Missions- 

WM.  COGSWELL,  D.  D.    «  "      Education  Society. 

JOHN  CODMAN,  D.  D.  Pastor  of  Congregational  Church,  Dorchester. 

WARREN  FAY,  D.  D.        »  «  «      Charkstown. 

Rev.  G.  W.  BLAGDEN,     '*  «  "    Salem-st.  Bos. 

Rev.  HUBBARD  WINSLOW,  "  ''   Bowdoin-st.  ^' 

Rev.  SEWALL  HARDING,  Pastor  of  T.  C.  Church,  Waltham. 

Rev.  J.  H.  FAIRCHILD,  Pastor  of  the  Cong.  Church,  South-Boston. 

GARDINER  SPRING,  D.  D.  Pastor  of  Presb.  Chh.  JVew  York  city, 

CYRUS  MASON,  D.  D.  "  "        " 

THOS.  McAULEY,  D.  D.  "  "        *'         "  « 

JOHN  WOODBRIDGE,  D.  D.  «  "        "  "  «« 

THOS.  DE WITT,  D.  D.  "    Dutch  Ref.     «'  "  " 

E.  W.  BALDWIN,  D.  D.  «  "        "  "  « 

Rev.  J.  M.  McKREBS,  «  Presb.    "  "  " 

Rev.  ERSKINE  MASON,  "  "        "  "  *» 

Rev.  J.  S.  SPENCER,  "  "         "     Brooklyn. 

EZRA  STILES  ELY,  D.  D.  Slated  Clerk  of  Gen.  Assem.  of  Presb.  Chh. 

JOHN  MDOWELL,  D.  D.  Perwanenf "  "         "  "  «* 

JOHN  BRECKENRIDGE,  Cor.  Scc'y  of  ./Assembly's  Board  of  Education. 

SAMUEL  B.  WYLIE,  D.  D.  Pastor  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Chh. 

N.  LORD,  D.  D.  President  of  Dartmouth  Collecre. 

JOSHUA  BATES,  D.  D.  "        Middlebury    " 

H.  HUMPHREY,  D.  D."        Amherst         « 

E.  D.  GRIFFIN,  D.  D.      "         Williamsfown  " 

J.  WHEELER,  D.  D.     "         University  of  Vermont,  at  Burlington. 

J.  M.  MATTHEWS,  D.D."        JVeio  York  city  University. 

GEO.  E.  PIERCE,  D.  D.«         JVestern  Reserve  College,  Ohio. 

Rev.  DR.  BROWN,         "         Jefferson  College,  Penn. 

LEONARD  WOODS,  D.  D.  Prof  of  Theology,  Andover  S 

THOS.  H.  SKINNER,  D.  D.    "          Sac.  Rhet.  " 

Rev.  RALPH  EMERSON,        «  Eccl.  Hist.        " 


(     8     )         , 

Rev.  JOEL  PARKER,  Pastor  of  Presb.  Church,  jYew  Orleans. 

JOEL  HAWES,  D.  D.      "  Cong.      «  Hartford,  Conn. 

JN.S.  S.  BEAMAN,  D.  D.  "  Presb.      "  Troy,  ^\  Y. 

MARKTUCKER,  D.  D. "  "  " 

Rev.  E.  N.  KIRK,  "  "  "      Mbany,    " 

Rev.  B.  B.  EDWARDS,  Ed.  of  quarterly  Observer. 

Rev.  STEPHEN  MASON,  Pastor  ^st  Cong.  Church,  JYantuckeL 

Rev.  ORIN  FOWLER,  "        "         "  "       Fall  River. 

WILLIAM  M.  ENGLES,  Editor  of  the  Presbyterian. 

GEORGE  W.  BETHUNE,D.D.  Pastor  of  the  First  Reformed  Dutch  Ch. 


■    The  following  are  Extracts  from  Letters  to  the  Publishers^  and  Notices 

in  Periodicals. 

Dr.  Hujiphrey,  President  of  Amherst  College.  'The  execution  of 
the  plan  thus  far  exceeds  my  high  expectations:  I  have  Henry,  Dod- 
dridge, and  Scott,  and  admire  them  all;  but  to  say  that  your  great  work 
promises,  when  completed,  to  be  more  valuable  than  either,  would  be 
little  more  than  saying  that  the  best  things  in  the  three  combined  must 
be  better  than  any  one  of  them  alone.' 

Dk.  \jOKV>,  President  of  Dartmouth  College.  <1  have  made  conside- 
rable examination  of  the  Comprehensive  Commentary,  and  am  satisfied 
of  its  superiority  over  all  others  which  I  have  seen  for  the  purposes 
intended.' 

Dr.  Griffin,  President  of  Williams  College.  '  The  Comprehensive 
Commentary  appears  to  be  on  a  plan  better  than  any  other  which  I  have 
seen,  and,  judging  from  a  short  examination,  and  from  the  strong  testi- 
mony of  the  ministers  of  Boston  and  vicinity,  1  have  no  doubt  the  exe- 
cution is  as  good  as  the  design.' 

Dr.  Hawes,  Hartford.  'The  plan  and  execution,  so  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  examine,  I  highly  approve.  *  *  *  I  sincerely  hope  that  the 
work  may  have  a  wide  circulation,  and  any  thing  i  can  do  to  aid  it, 
shall  be  done  cheerfully.' 

Dr.  WifitiZR,  Secretary  of  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  *I 
am  exceedingly  pleased  with  the  volume  published  of  the  Comprehen- 
sive Commentary.  I  have  all  along  had  strong  confidence  that  it  would 
be  well  done,  but  my  expectations  are  more  than  realized.' 

Dn.  Matthkws,  Chancellor  of  A''eic  York  city  University.  *  1  had  ex- 
pected that  the  Comprehensive  Commentary  would  be  a  valuable  work; 
but,  judging  from  the  volume  on  the  Gospels,  it  exceeds  my  expectations. 
It  gives  us  Henry  nearly  at  large;  and  superadds  a  synopsis  of  what  is 
important  in  many  of  the  other  most  enlightened  commentaries  on  the 
Bible.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that  I  shall  esteem  it  the  most 
valuable  Commentary  in  our  language,  should  it  be  finished  as  it  has 
been  commenced.' 

JVew  York,  Jiiig.  29,  1834.  J.  M.  MATTHEWS. 

Dr.  Batks,  President  of  Middlehury  College.  *I  am  free  to  express 
my  entire  approbation  of  the  work,  both  in  respect  to  the  editorial  la- 
bours, and  the  mechanical  execution.  Notwithstanding  my  previous 
high  opinion  of  the  Editor,  the  present  specimen  of  the  work  altogether 


-         (     9     ) 

exceeds  my  high  expectationg.  Most  sincerely  do  I  hope  that  it  will 
Ob  lain  an  extensive  (and  I  might  say  universal)  circulatio^nt.roUhTur 
country  and  m  England.  Besides  the  other  qualities  which  recommend 
It  it  possesses  one  of  great  importance  to  English  Literature  vTzThat 
of  possessmg  the  same  Saxon  purity,  both  as  tS  the  choice  of  lords'  and 

tL  T°eTt  of  the'B.fr'".'-  *H  Uh^^^°---tary  (Henry)  as  charact^'rizes 
the  lext  ol  the  Bible,  which  Fisker  Ames  used  to  say  had  done  more  to 
guard  against  the  corrupting  influence  of  foreign  words  and  iSfoms,  and 
thus  to  preserve  the  punty  and  simplicity  of  the  EnMish  lancruaffe  than 
all  other  causes  combined.'  '^        J  o   ="  ''^"guage,  man 

From  Rev.  Lyman  Beecher,  D.  D.  Pres.  of  Lane  Thtol  Seminary,  Ohio 

fhP^Ltt'T^f  ""m  ^^P°«'t?^l«f,the  Bible,  Henry  and  Scott  are  amon^ 
the  best  for  lamily  use.  The  Comprehensive  Commentary  is  intended 
to  include,  in  a  condensed  form,  the  excellencies  of  both,  with  copious 
explanatory  notes  from  all  the  best  critics  and  commentators.  From 
what  I  know  personally  of  the  publishers  and  the  editor  of  the  work, 
and  from  what  I  know  of  its  execution,  I  am  persuaded  it  will  meet  the 
expectation  of  subscribers,  and  be  cheaper  and  better  for  Familv  use 
than  any  other;  and  that  it  will  be  a  treasure  to  any  family  who  shall 
obtain  It :  and  I  cordially  recommend  it  for  universal  family  use.' 

LYMAN  BEECHER. 
Dr.  Woods,  Professor  of  Theology  in  Andover  Seminari/.     '  I  hope  It 
win  be  extensively  circulated,  and  doubt  not  that  it  will  be  very  useful 
in  Bible  classes,  as  well  as  in  the  study  of  Ministers,  and  the  closets  of 
private  Christians. 

Rev.  Asa  Cjimmi^gs,  Editor  of  Christian  Mirror,  and  author  of  Memoir 
oj  Payson  'It  is  with  no  ordinary  degree  of  pleasure  that  I  can  express 
myself  satisfied  with  the  Comprehensive  Commentary— it  is  far  superior 
to  what  1  have  dared  to  expect.' 

From  the  Professors  at  Princeton  Theol  Seminary. 

^  The  Comprehensive  Commentary  contains  the  whole  of  Henry's 
Exposition  m  a  condensed  form,  Scott's  Practical  Observations  and' 
Mcygmal  References,  and  a  large  number  of  very  valuable  philological 
and  critical  notes,  selected  from  various  authors.— The  work,  as  far'as  it 
has  proceeded  appears  to  be  executed  with  judgment,  fidelity,  and  care; 
and  will  furnish  a  rich  treasure  of  scriptural  knowledcre  to  the  Biblical 
student,  and  to  the  teachers  of  Sabbath  Schools  and  Bible  classes.' 

A.  ALEXANDER  D.  D. 

SAMUEL  MILLER,  D.  D. 

CHARLES  HODGE,  D.  D. 

From  the  Professors  at  Bangor  Theological  Seminary,  4'C. 

'This  certifies  that  we  have  examined  to  some  extent  the  volume  of 
the  Comprehensive  Commentary,  recently  issued  from  the  press;  and 
although  from  our  knowledge  of  the  design  and  plan  of  the  publication, 
and  of  the  qualifications  and  character  of  the  gentlemen  concerned  in  it,' 
we  had  no  doubt  as  to  its  general  interest  and  importance,  we  must  say 
that  our  expectations  are  more  than  realized.  The  work  is  altocrether 
one  of  great  value,  and  merits  the  attention  and  patronao-e,  not  only  of 


(     10     ) 

private  Christians,  and  those  concerned  in  Sabbath  Schools,  but  of  th& 

public  teachers  of  religion  also.' 

ENOCH  FOiND,  Prof,  of  Theology,  Thcol.  Seviinary,  Bangor. 
ALVAN  BOND,     "         Biblical  Lit.     "  "  " 

L.  S.  POMROY,  Pastor  of  1st  Congregational  Church,    '' 
JOHN  MALTBY,  "         Flammond-st.  "  "  " 

American  Quarterly  Observkr.  '  We  have  looked  over  the  first 
volume  of  this  long  expected  work,  with  great  satisfaction,  *  *  *  Henry 
is  permitted  to  speak  his  own  sentiments  in  his  own  quaint  and  admi- 
rable manner.  The  notes  are  selected  with  taste  and  judgment.  *  *  * 
We  are  well  satisfied  that  it  has  been  done  judiciously  and  faithfully.' 

Boston  Recorder.  '  We  are  glad  to  learn  that  the  publishers  have 
received  many  names  as  patrons  of  the  work  from  various  portions  of 
the  United  States;  we  think  now  that  they  can  present  a  volume  libe- 
rally *'  got  up"  as  this  is  in  respect  to  engravings,  paper,  printing  and 
binding,  and  combining  so  many  advantages,  their  list  will  receive  daily 
additions,  and  the  cheapness  of  the  work  is  such  that  they  can  only  be 
remunerated  from  extended  sales.' 

New  Hampshire  Observer.  'The  excellence  of  the  design  is  too 
obvious  to  be  mentioned.  To  bring  together  in  one  work  what  is  most 
valuable  in  all  our  commentaries,  for  about  the  price  of  one  of  them,  is 
certainly  doing  the  public  a  great  service.  Such  a  work,  tolerably  exe- 
cuted, must,  we  think,  take  the  place  of  all  other  Commentaries  for  ge- 
neral reading.' 

New  York  Observer.  Whoever  desires  to  obtain  the  exposition  of 
Matthew  Henry,  along  with  the  better  part  of  Scott  and  Doddridge,  and 
the  most  valuable  criticisms  on  the  English  text,  of  Adam  Clarke,  Gill, 
Burder  and  others,  will  do  well  to  subscribe  for  the  Comprehensive 
Commentary.  The  character  of  the  editor  is  a  sufficient  guarantee  for 
the  remaining  volumes,  that  neither  learning,  integrity  nor  industry, 
will  be  wanting  to  render  them  worthy  of  the  most  extensive  patronage. 

New  York  Evangelist.  'The  Editor  is  well  known  as  a  gentleman 
of  extensive  learning  and  deep  research,  and  in  this  work  he  has  dis- 
played a  good  judgment  in  the  selection  of  notes.  It  is  handsomely 
printed,  well  bound,  and  on  good  paper.  We  hope  the  publishers  will 
take  special  pains  to  gain  the  assistance  of  American  ministers.  The 
note  from  Dr.  Wisner,  on  Luke  xxiv.  3G— 48,  is  a  sample  of  what  might 
be  done  by  American  writers  in  making  portions  of  Scripture  tell  upon 
the  Christian  action  of  the  church.  The  work  has  been  unusually  fortu- 
nate in  obtaining  the  commendation  of  ministers.' 

Conn.  Observer.  Comprehensive  Commentary.  'The  publisliers  of 
the  Comprehensive  Commentary,  seem  determined  to  make  it  as  near 
perfect  as  it  can  be  made  by  care,  and  labour  and  expense.  It  bears 
examination  well,  and  the  attentive  reader  after  a  thorough  perusal  will 
doubtless  assent  to  the  correctness  of  the  remark,  that  aside  from  all  its 
other  excellencies  il  presents  the  commentaries  on  zchich  it  is  based  in  a 
better  stiape  than  the  originals.^ 

Vermont  Chronicle.  'We  have  examined  parts  of  it  with  a  good 
deal  of  care;  and  can  assure  subscribers  and  others,  that  the  work  is  in 
all  respects  faithfully  done.  Having  taken  pains  to  compare  the  abridg- 
ments of  Henry,  and  the  extracts  from  Scott  with  the  originals,  to  con- 


(  11  ) 

siderable  extent,  and  looked  critically  at  the  notes  from  other  sources 

we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that,  in  our  opinion,  it  is  very  decidedly 

superior,  m  many  important  respects,  to  anv  Commentary^ eve    %ub^ 

lished  in  this  country.    The  admirers  of  Henry  have  the  fubstanTe  of 

his  Commentary  faithfully  before  them,  in  his  own  lan.uaae   and  fitted 

to  be  more  generally  useful  by  the  removal  of  repetitio°ns  and  other  re 

dundancies,  and  the  omission  of  words  and  phrases  that  are  ill-iud/ed 

and  m  bad  taste      The  selections  from  Scott  and  Doddridge  have  b^en 

carefully  and  judiciously  made.     The  miscellaneous  note^sffom  other 

sources  are  the  result  of  extensive  reading,  and  furnish  a  great  mass  of 

llustrative  facts  and  hints  that  can  be   found  together  nowhere  else 

^n'/fr!hn,       '"/'  f,"^^^'^'^  ^^^^^  ^^  the  few,  have  ifere  been  laid  under 

contribution  for  the  service  of  all.     The  whole  has  been  prepared  for 

popular  use,  and  IS  conveniently  arranged.     As   to  its  orthodoxy,  and 

the  spirit  that  it  breathes,  we  need  only  say  that  Henry,  Scott,  and  bod- 

dndge  are  permitted  to  speak  out  their  views  and  fielings  fully,  and 

that  with  these,  the  other  materials  are  in  harmony.     The  price  is  very 

low-so  low  as  to  place  the  work  within  the  means  of  almost  every  one 

Many  thousands  of  copies  of  Henry  and  Scott  have  been  sold  among  us 

at  a  higher  price.     Can  pastors  do  a  better  service  to  the  interests  of 

rehgion   in  any  similar  way,  than  by  exerting  themselves  to  introduce 

this  work  among  the  people  of  their  charge?' 

From  the  Literary  and  Theological  Review,  A'ew   York,  Edited  brj  Rev, 

Leonard  fVoods,  Jr. 
'While  the  standard  Commentaries  in  our  language  certainly  have 
great  excellencies,  they  also  have  glaring  defects,  and   it  was  k  good 
thought  to  form  a  commentary  which  should  combine  the  excellencies 
and  exclude  the  defects  of  our  most  approved  interpreters  of  the  Bible. 
Such  IS  the  ob|ect  of  the  Comprehensive  Commentary.     The  task  was 
certainly  a  difhcult  one,  and  failure  would  not  have  been  strancre.     But 
It  has  been  accomplished  thus  far,  under  the  auspices  of  the  lear'ned  and 
able  editor,  in  such  a  way  as  to  realize  the  expectations  of  the  public. 
\Ve  have  no  doubt  that  the  best  and  only  way  of  promoting  a  thoroucrh 
knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  is  for  writers  to  devote  themselves  to  the 
more  careful  study  of  particular  books.     The  whole  Bible  is  too  lar^e  a 
held  to  be  successfully  cultivated  by  a  single  hand,  hence  we  think  the 
labours  of  Prof.  Stuart,  Robinson,  Bush  and  others,  are  far  more  wisely 
directed  in  being  employed  on  particular  portions  of  the  Sacred  Word 
than  in  being  extended  like  those  of  some  others  over  the  whole  Bible' 
ihis  opinion,  however,  does  not  diminish  our  approbation  of  the  at- 
tempt to  render  the  riches  of  scripture  knowledo-e  and  particular  in- 
struction a^rewrf?/  existing  in  the  language,  more  available  by  the  great 
'f^^^u,    the  community.     The  one  is  an  effort  to  elevate  the  standard 
ot  Biblical  learning— the  other  to  disseminate  the  knowledge  already 
accumulated;  and  for  the  latter  object  no  work  on  the  Scriptures  which 
we  have  seen  is  better  calculated  than  the  Comprehensive  Commentary.' 

From  the  Portland,  (Me.)  Christian  Mirror,  Edited  bij  Rev.  Asa  Cummings, 

author  of  Life  of  Pay  son. 

'When  the  first  volume  of  this  work  made  its  appearance,  we  spoke 

with  a  measure  of  caution,  as  to  its  merits.     From  the  time  of  issuing 

the  Prospectus,  we  have  heard  good  men  express  fears,  that  it  was  to 


(     12     ) 

faTOur  a  mitigated  theology,  and  weaken  the  hold  of  the  Churches  upon 
"the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints."  We  of  course  felt  it  incum- 
beqi;  on  us  to  wait  till  we  could  examine  it  with  some  care  before  ex- 
pressing a  fnll  and  decided  judgment  of  its  merits.  We  have  accord- 
ingly made  it  a  part  of  the  business  of  every  week  to  consult  the  Com- 
prehensive Commentary,  and  the  examination  has  afforded  us  a  degree 
of  satisfaction  which  we  did  not  anticipate.  So  far  from  commending  it 
with  reluctance,  we  feel  that  we  should  do  wrong  to  withhold  an  ex- 
pression of  approbation. — This  we  give  in  the  language  of  the  Editors  of 
the  Protestant  Vindicator^ — and  we  could  not  use  stronger.' 

Nt;w    York  Protestant  Vindicator.      'Having   devoted  nearly  a 
who.u  day  to  a  close  scrutiny  of  its  contents,  we  are  able  to  express  a 
decisive  opinion  respecting  its  merits  and  its  claims  to  public  patronage. 
Of  the   quantity  of  matter  contained  in  this  volume  an  accurate  idea 
may  be  formed  from  one  remark.     The  Commentary  of  Henry,  and  the 
practical  observations  of  Scott,  are  published  nearly  entire.    The  addi- 
tional notes  are  selected  from  a  regiment  of  authors,  for  we  ascertained 
that  there  are  nearly  Jifty  diff*erent  writers  quoted  in  the  first  four  chap- 
ters only  of  the  gospel  by  Matthew.    The  decorations  are  fine  specimens 
of  the  artist's  skill  and  are  judiciously  selected.     JJs  printers,  we  pro- 
nounce, that  the  mechanical  execution  of  this  volume  cannot  be  sur- 
passed until  some  additional  discovery  in  the  typographical  art  gives 
more  accuracy  of  composition  and  lucidness  to  ink,  for  we  have  not 
encountered  one  literal  error  or  a  stray  ^'  Monk  or  Friar,''  through  any 
of  the  ^^ forms,"  which  we  have  deliberately  perused.     These  topics, 
however,  although  they  comprise  economy,  taste  and  even  the  multi- 
plication of  books  at  a  price  so  low  that  there  is  not  a  Christian  parent 
in  this  republic  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,"  who  cannot  procure 
them;  yet  these  attractions  are  "altogether  lighter  than  vanity,"  when 
placed  in  competition  with  the  momentous  inquiry, — Does  the  Compre- 
hensive Commentary  on  the  Holy  Bible  speak  ^^  as  the  truth  is  in  Jesus?" 
To  this  ineff'ably  important  inquiry,  we  give  a  deliberate  answef.     As 
we  have  already  stated,  we  have  extensively  searched  the  volume  which 
comprises  the  four  Gospels.     We  have  amply  scrutinized  its  pages  in 
reference  to  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christian  theology,  and  our 
examination  has  been  very  gratifying.     The  passages  which  we  most 
inquisitively  explored  included  the  topics  to  which  the  principal  modern 
controversies  advert,  and  especially  the  cardinal  points  "  of  the  faith 
which  was  once  delivered  to  the  saints."     We  have  not  stumbled  upon 
a  comment  that  in  our  opinion  is  contrary  to  "that  which  is  noted  in 
the  Scriptures  of  truth." — We  therefore,  most  conscientiously  avow  our 
preference  of  the  "Comprehensive  Commentary  on  the  Holy  Bible," 
to  any  others,  or  rather  we  say  all  others. 

It  must  be  remembered  this  is  not  an  ephemeral  publication.  A  sum 
of  money  the  ordinary  interest  of  which  is  amply  sufficient  to  support 
any  temperate  family  in  comfort,  must  be  expended  and  laid  up  only  in 
the  Stereotype  plates,  which  are  requisite  to  complete  the  work.  We 
have  often  recommended  books  to  the  perusal  of  our  brethren  and  friends, 
but  never  have  we  performed  that  duty  with  such  deep  solicitude;  as 
we  now  advise  all  who  duly  value  the  "one  pearl  of  great  price,"  to 
buy  this  most  "goodly  pearl."' 

Salem,  (Mass.)  Landmark.    *  We  have  no  hesitation  of  giving  it  as 


13     ) 

our  opinion,  that  for  the  greater  portion  of  readers,  this  work  will  be 
more  valuable  than  the  separate  Commentaries  of  the  various  eminent 
men  who  have  just  been  named.  The  most  important  matter  that  these 
severally  contain  is  here  collected  together,  and  the  reader  can  be  fur- 
nished with  it  without  looking  through  a  number  of  volumes. 

There  is  a  rich  variety  of  notea  supplying  abundant  information  re- 
specting the  geography,  and  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  country 
in  which  the  writers  of  the  Bible  lived,  *  *  *  The  Sabbath  School 
teacher  will  find  it  an  able  coadjutor  in  the  instruction  of  his  class.' 

Christian  Intelligencer.  (JV'ezo  York  city.  From  the  pen  of  the  Rev. 
W.  C.  Brownlee,  D.  D.)  *  The  able  Editor  is  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jenks,  of  Bos- 
ton; one  in  whom  the  evangelical  community  have  full  and  unshaken  con- 
fidence. We  call  the  attention  particularly  of  young  clergymen,  and  of 
all  lovers  of  sound  and  practical  truth,  to  this  great  work.  Were  I  again 
to  select  my  books  of  this  character,  and  were  1  to  have  my  choice  of 
this  work  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  Henry,  Scott,  and  Doddridge,!  would 
decidedly  choose  this  work.  Besides  the  choice  being  one  suggested 
by  economy,  which  is  always  something  to  young  clergymen,  I  should 
in  that  case  have  every  leading  sentiment  and  valuable  idea  of  these 
favourite  Commentators  set  down  together  on  the  page  before  me,  and 
thereby  save  much  time  and  trouble  in  examining  each  of  them  apart.  I 
have  had  this  volume  under  examination  for  several  months,  and  for  one 
I  gay  deliberately  that  the  more  I  examine  it,  the  more  I  am  convinced 
of  its  intrinsic  value  and  superior  excellence.  It  appears  evident  to  us 
that  the  able  and  truly  estimable  Editor  has  faithfully  exhibited  the 
doctrinal  sentiments  of  Henry,  Scott,  and  Doddridge.  It  would  be  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  detect  a  single  omission  of  any  real  consequence. 
And  the  labour  and  industry  of  Dr.  Jenks  in  quoting  and  culling  valu- 
able sentiments  from  such  a  host  of  writers,  is  really  astonishing.  The 
grand  and  precious  doctrines  of  the  gospel  are  carefully  exhibited  in  this 
work.  And  we  must  add,  that  we  have  not  yet  met  with  one  sentiment 
which  the  devout  and  intelligent  Christian  who  embraces  the  doctrines 
in  the  standard  of  the  Reformed  Churches  can  with  any  show  of  justice 
find  fault  with.  Hence  it  is  a  work  of  exceedingly  great  value  to  the 
private  Christian,  and  to  the  heads  of  families. 

it  exhibits  a  most  correct  and  truly  beautiful  specimen  of  printing. 
*  *  *  Here  is  an  honest  appeal  to  every  patriot,  who  is  called  on  to  en- 
courage domestic  enterprise,  and  the  arts  and  manufactures  among  us; 
and  to  every  lover  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  to  patronise  the  excellent  Edi- 
tor and  enterprising  publishers,  who  are  undertaking  such  a  laborious 
work,  and  embarking  such  immense  capital  in  the  laudable  endeavour  to 
promote  evangelical  truth  and  diffuse  the  knowledge  of  our  Saviour 
throughout  the  land. 

We  conclude  by  earnestly  recommending  this  work  to  our  brethren 
and  friends.  It  is  indeed  "a  goodly  pearl,"  which  every  devout  and 
good  man  should  seek  to  possess  in  his  family,  for  his  own  benefit  and 
that  of  his  children.  W.  C.  B.' 

The  Phila DELPHIAN.  {Edited  by  Rev.  Ezra  Stiles  Ely,  D.  D.)  '  The 
work  we  confidently  expect  will  be  as  valuable  as  any  two,  if  not  three, 
of  the  Commentaries  from  which  extracts  are  made,  and  all,  we  repeat  it, 
for  fifteen  dollars.     We  like  the  plan  and  execution  of  the  work. 

<  Having  so  far  examined  the   Comprehensive  Comvicntunj  now    in 
o 


(  1*  ) 

course  of  publication  by  Fessenden  &/•  Co.,  and  edited  by  Rev.  Dr.  Jenks, 
as  to  be  satisfied  of  its  2;reat  advantages  over  those  of  any  other  work  of 
the  kind  extant; — in  addition  to  the  already  copious  recommendations, 
from  a  large  number  of  highly  distinguished  clergymen,  Presidents  of 
Colleores  and  other  literary  gentlemen  in  the  Northern  and  Middle 
States,  we  would  cheerfully  commend  the  work  to  the  Southern  com- 
munity as  one  of  great  and  permanent  value — highly  worthy  the  patron-' 
age  of  all — especially  heads  of  Families  and  Bible  Class  and  Sunday 
School  Teachers;  and  we  cannot  but  cherish  the  hope  that  it  will  be  re- 
ceived with  the  favour  and  patronage  which  its  merits  deserve,  and 
which  are  so  indispensable  to  the  arduous  and  expensive  enterprise  of 
publishing  so  extensive  and  valuable  a  work.' 

Rev.  STEPHEN  TAYLOR,  Pastor  o/2rf  Presh.  Church,  Richmond,  Va, 
Rev.  H.  KEELING,  3d  Baptist   ''  "  " 

Rev.  GEO.  WOODBRIDGE,  Rector  of  Christ        "  "  * 

Rev.  JAMES  B.  TAYLOR,  Pastor  of  2d  Baptist    "  « 

Rev.   A.    CONVERSE,  Editor  of  So.  Re  I.  Telecrraph,  Richw.ond,  Va. 
Rev.  WJVt  S.  WHITE,  Gen.  Agent  of  Virginia  Trad  Society.     ' 

From  Clergymen  in  Baltimore. 

'  I  cordially  approve  of  the  plan  and  design  of  the  Comprehensive 
Commentary,  and  of  the  execution  of  the  work,  so  far  as  a  cursory  ex- 
amination of  the  volume  published  qualifies  me  to  judge  of  it,  and  I  re- 
commend it  to  the  people  of  my  pastoral  charge  and  others,  as  a  work 
well  deserving  of  their  patronage.' 

WILLIAM  NEVINS, 
Pastor  of  the  First  Presb.  Chh.  Baltimore. 

'  The  commentaries  intended  to  be  comprised  in  the  work  for  which  you 
propose  to  solicit  subscribers  are  too  well  known  and  too  generally  ap- 
preciated to  require  commendation.  The  plan,  as  set  forth  by  the  pros- 
pectus, is  a  very  good  one,  and  if  the  whole  execution  proves  tor  be  in 
keeping  with  the  specimen  which  you  have  sent  me  for  inspection,  the 
work  will  well  deserve,  and  I  have  no  doubt  will  receive,  the  liberal  pa- 
tronage of  the  Christian  community.'  J.  JOHNS, 

Rector  of  Christ's  Church,  Baltimore. 

'I  entirely  concur  in  the  recommendations  of  the  Comprehensive  Com- 
mentary, given  by  Drs.  Johns  and  Nevins.* 

J.  P.  K.  HENSHAW, 
Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Baltiviorc. 

*If  my  opinion  is  considered  of  any  value  by  any  one,  I  very  readily 
say,  that  I  should  consider  the  "  Comprehensive  Commentary,"  when 
faithfully  completed  on  the  plan  laid  down  in  the  prospectus,  by  far  the 
most  valuable  work  of  the  kind  to  be  found  in  any  language,  for  the  com- 
mon reader.  Matihew  Henry  is  before  all  men  as  an  expositor,  and  Dr. 
Scott's  Practical  Observations  are  scarcely  equalled;  while  those  two, 
with  Doddridge,  are  of  all  doctrinal  guides  the  safest  amongst  commenta- 
tors, to  say  nothing  of  others.  Such  a  work  as  the  one  proposed,  if 
fairly  executed  upon  the  basis  of  the  labours  of  these  holy,  wise,  and  I 
will  add  learned  men,  must  be  above  price.' 

J.R.  BRECKENRIDGE, 
Pastor  of  the  York-st.  Presh.  Churchy  Baltimore. 


(     16     ) 
From  Clergymen  in  Wusfdngton  City,  D   C 

J7u  ^}T  "^^Vl^  ^^  ^"  acquainted  with  the  character  and  standing- 
of  the  distinguished  men  who  have  recommended  this  work  no  oihef 
recommendation  can  be  necessary.  The  undersigned  fully  accords 
with  them  in  their  opinion,  and   believes   that  they'have   not  rated     3 

It  must  be  an  invaluable  help  to  the  correct  understanding  of  the  sacred 
th/ E  hff  ■  A^^' ;"^^^d',V'^«  wish  to  have  an  excellent  Commentary  on 
lor?  w^  7"  tf  ""''"""""'u^^*''"  ^'''  Commentaries  in  one  single 
1  f  7  i'  i'°'!,''''^'  P"''^''  themselves  of  this.  It  is  handsomely  Sx- 
ecuted,  and  ottered  on  very  reasonable  terms.  R.  POST 

Pastor  \st  Pros.  Church,  Washington  City: 

*I  cheerfully  concurin  the  views  and  recommendationsexprcssed  above 

JAMES  LOWRIE,  D.  D. 

Pastor  F  Street  Church: 
'The  high  recommendation  given  to  the  work  above  referred  to  bv 
the  reverend  gentlemen  whose  names  are  well  known  to  the  public  in- 
duces me  to  believe  that  it  is  entitled  to  the  approbation  and  patronatre 
ot  all  who  are  desirous  of  rightly  understanding  the  Scriptures  of  Divine 
Kevelation,  which  are  able  to  make  them  wise  unto  salvation. 

WILLIAM  HAWLEY, 
Rector  of  St.  John's  Chh.  Washington  City: 

'  After  such  an  inspection  of  the  first  volume  of  this  work  as  mvtirae 
has  permitted  me  to  make,  in  the  space  of  three  or  four  days  I  freelv 
add  my  suffrage  to  that  of  many  others,  that  it  is  a  publication  well 
worthy  the  title  which  it  bears.  It  is  "  a  Comprehensive  Commentary  " 
Whoever  possesses  it,  will  be  able,  without  reference  to  other  books  to 
make  himself  acquainted  with  the  leading  opinions  of  the  best  and  most 
approved  Commentators,  both  critical  and  practical,  on  the  four  Evan- 
gelists. If  the  subsequent  volumes  shall  be  prepared  with  the  same 
care,  judiciousness  and  talent,  which  are  exhibited  in  the  one  already 
published— and  this  it  seems  reasonable  to  presume— the  work  will  be 
one  of  great  value  to  young  clergymen,  to  Sabbath  school  teachers,  and- 
to  heads  of  families;  and,  indeed,  to  ail  who  love  the  study  of  the  liible, 
not  excepting  those  who  are  already  provided  with  other  expositions  of 
the  sacred  text.  ASHBEL  GREEN,  D.  D. 

Philadelphia,  Nov.  23,  1834.' 

National  Intelugencer,  Washington  City,  D.  C.  '  The  first  volume 
of  this  long  expected  work  is  just  published  in  royal  octavo,  in  a  very 
superior  style,  on  a  beautiful  clear  type  and  fine  paper.  The  price  of  this 
valuable  work  is  only  three  dollars  per  volume,  substantially  bound,  and 
a  cheaper  work  has  perhaps  never  issued  from  the  press.' 


{     16 

Statesman.  (^Washington, Korth  Carolina.^  'We  are  confident  It ia  a 
V/ork  of  very  great  merit,  and  for  beauty  of  its  typography  and  engra- 
vings,surpasses  any  thing  we  have  seen  on  the  same  subject.  This  work 
is  edited  by  Dr.  Wm,  Jenks,  of  Boston,  and  professedly  combines  the 
labours  and  learning  of  those  great  lights  in  the  Christian  world,  Henry, 
Clarke,  Scott,  Lowth,  Doddridge,  Gill,  and  others,  and  will  bind  up  in 
five  volumes  of  about  800  pages  each,  in  quarto  form,  embellished  with 
superb  engravings,  at  the  astonishing  low  price  of  three  dollars  per  vo- 
lume. The  high  recommendations  of  the  work  by  distinguished  Clergy- 
men conclusively  attest  its  value.' 

The  Presbvtehian.  {Philadelphia.)  '  We  have  heard  this  work 
highly  commended  by  competent  critics.  *  *  *  The  volume  contain- 
ing the  Evangelists  has  been  submitted  to  us,  and  we  are  decidedly  of 
opinion,  that  if  the  other  volumes  are  equal  to  this  in  point  of  execution, 
it  will  be  a  work  every  way  worthy  of  patronage,  as  comprehending  for 
family  use,  a  larger  amount  of  valuable  matter  than  any  Commentary 
extant.  To  such  as  are  not  furnished,  we  would  recommend  an  ex- 
amination of  this  work,  as  containing  a  vast  fund  of  matter,  and  at  a  rea- 
sonable price.' 

Petersburg  Virginia  Constellation.  'The  price  is  loio,  we  think, 
for  the  splendid  manner  in  which  this  edition  of  the  sacred  writings  is 
gotten  up.' 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF   RELIGIOUS   KNOWLEDGE; 

OR, 

Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Theology,  Religious  Biography,  all  Religions, 
Ecclesiastical  History,  and  Missions;  containing  Definitions  of  all 
Religious  Terms;  an  impartial  Account  of  the  principal  Christian  De- 
nominations that  have  existed  in  the  World  from  the  Birth  of  Christ 
to  the  present  Day,  with  their  Doctrines,  Religious  Rites  and  Cere- 
monies, as  well  as  those  of  the  Jews,  Mohammedans,  and  Heathen 
Nations;  together  with  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  East,  illus- 
trative of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  a  Description  of  the  Quadrupeds, 
Birds,  Fishes,  Reptiles,  Insects,  Trees,  Plants,  and  Minerals  men- 
tioned in  the  Bible:  a  Statement  of  the  most  Remarkable  Trans- 
actions and  Events  in  Ecclesiastical  History;  Biographical  Notices  of 
the  early  Martyrs  and  distinguished  Religious  Writers  and  Characters 
of  all  Ages.  To  which  is  added  a  Missionary  Gazetteer,  containing  De- 
scriptions of  the  various  Missionary  Stations  throughout  the  Globe; 
by  Rev.  B.  B.  Edwards,  Editor  of  Quarterly  Observer.  The  whole 
brought  down  to  the  present  Time,  and  embracing,  under  one  Alpha- 
bet, the  most  valuable  part  of  Calmet's  and  Brown's  Dictionaries  of 
the  Bible;  Buck's  Theol.  Dictionary;  Abbott's  Scripture  Natural  His- 
tory; Wells'  Geogrnphy  of  the  Bible  ;  Jones'  Christian  Biography;  and 


(     17     ) 

numerous  other  similar  Works.  Designed  as  a  complete  Book  of 
Reference  on  all  Religious  Subjects,  and  Companion  to  the  Bible*; 
forming  a  cheap  and  compact  Library  of  Religious  Knowledge.  Edited 
by  Rev.  J.  Newton  Brown.  Illustrated  by  Wood  Cuts,  Maps,  and 
Engravings  on  Copper  and  Steel. 


PUBLISHERS'   ADVERTISEMENT. 
The  present  is  an  age,  and  ours  is  a  country,  demanding  great  con- 
densation and  brevity  in  writers  who  would  secure  attention.     So  active 
and  busy  are  the  habits  of  the  mass  of  our  countrymen,  that  they  have 
neither  lime  nor  patience  to  turn  and  peruse  the  pages  of  tlie  cumbersome 
quartos  and  folios  of  the  17ih  century;  while  a  tolerable  competency 
would  scarcely  suffice  for  the  purchase  of  the  numerous  works  of  which 
the  modern  press  is  so  fruitful,  on  the  subjects  embraced  in  this  volume. 
The  work,  then,  combining  and  condensing  the  most  valuable  results  of 
the  researches  of  the  best  writers  on  any  subject,  while  it  will  be  most 
likely  to  be  received  with  favour,  will  at  the  same  time  be  best  calculated 
to  facilitate  the  acquisition,  and  consequently  the  diffusion  of  knowledge. 
With  these  views  the  "  Compuehensive   Commentary  on  tiie  Bible" 
was  projected;  and  in  its  unprecedented  sale  has  encouraged  the  same  pub- 
lishers to  offer  to  the  public  the  present  volume.    The  subjects  embi-aced  iri 
this  work  are  interesting  to  all,  and  as  it  is  not  designed  to  he  in  ike  least 
sectarian,  or  denoniinatio7ial,  it  cannot  fail  to  be  desirable  for  alL^  whether 
'professedly  religions  or  not,  at  least  as  a  book  of  reference. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  plan: — 
1.  It  is  designed  to  be  a  standard  and  permanent  work;  and  here  it  is 
believed   will  be  found   collected  and   compressed  in  one   super-royal 
octavo  volume  of  upwards  of  twelve  hundred  pages,  in  a  shape  combin- 
ing convenience  and  cheapness,  and  in  a  style  blending  the  sweetness  of 
the  popular  with  the  richness  of  the  proibund,  wliat  has  heretofore  been 
scattered  through  more  than  forty  volumes,  and  mixed  with  much  of 
little  or  no  value.     Among  the  works,  all  the  valuable  matter  of  which 
will  be  found  in  this,  together  with  some  from  which  copious  e.ttracts 
have  been  made,  are  the  following: — 

Biblical  Illustration. — (hairnet's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible;  Brown'a 
do.;  Barr's  do.;  Wells'  Scripture  Geography;  Home's  Introduction; 
Harris'  Scripture  Natural  History;  Abbott's  edition  of  Carpenter's  do.; 
Paxton's  Illustrations  of  Scrij)ture;  Draper's  do  ;Harmer's  Observations: 
Jahn's  Archaeology;  Mrs.  Sherwood's  Dictionary  of  Types  and  Emblems; 
Burdur's  Oriental  Customs;  Josephus'  Jewish  Customs;  Keith's  Evi- 
dence of  Prophecy ;  Cogswell's  Harbinger  of  the  Millennium;  Robinson  s 
Biblical  Repository;  Crabbe's  English  Synonymes. 

Ecclesiastical  History. — Mosheim's  History  of  the  Christian 
Church;  Milner's  do.;  Jones'  do.;  Waddington's  do.;  Neander's  do,; 
Murdock's  Elements  of  Dogmatic  History;  Lord  Kings  History  of  the 
Primitive  Church;  RobinsoiT's  History  of  Baptism;  Sismondi's  History  of 
the  Crusades  against  the  Albigenses. 

Religious  Biography. — Fox's  Lives  of  the  Martyrs;  Middleton's 
Evangelical  Biography;  Jones'  Christian  Biog.;  Davenport's  Dictionary 
of  Biography;  Universal  Biographical  Dictionary;  Belham"s  Female  Bi- 
ography;  Clissold's  Last  Hours  of  Eminent  Christians;  Ivimey's  History 

2-^ 


(     18     ) 

of  the  Baptists;  Benedict's  do.;  Mather's  Magnalia;  Elliot's  American  Bi- 
ography; Allen's  do.;  Memoirs  of  American  Missionaries;  Encyclopaedia 
Americana. 

Theology. — Buck's  Theological  Dictionary,  enlarged  by  Dr.  Hender- 
son; Jones'  Biblical  Cyclopedia;  Hawker's  Biblical  Dictionary;  Watson's 
Biblical  and  Theological  Dictionary ;  Christian  Examiner;  Campbell's 
Dissertations;  Dwight's  Theology;  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims;  Works  of 
Andrew  Fuller;  do.  of  Robert  Hall;  Douglas  on  the  Advancement  of  So- 
ciety in  Knowledge  and  Religion. 

Chkistian  Denominations. — Evans'  Sketch  of  Religious  Denomina- 
tions; Jones'  Dictionary  of  Religious  Opinions;  Hannah  Adams'  do.; 
Robbins'  do. ;  Douglas  on  Errors  regarding  Religion;  Benedict's  History 
of  all  Religions;  Williams'  Dictionary  of  do. ;  Ward's  Farewell  Letters; 
Edwards'  Quarterly  Register. 

Missions. — Edwards'  Missionary  Gazetteer. 

[O^Jl/anT/  articles  are  original,  especially  those  relating  to  the  principal 
denominations  in  this  country,  as  will  be  seen  on  reference  to  the  fourth 
paragraph  below. 

2.  It  is  designed  for  a  complete  book  of  reference  on  all  religious  sub- 
jects,- to  which  a  person  can  turn  when  any  thing  occurs  in  reading  or 
conversation  connected  with  Religion  which  he  does  not  understand,  or 
in  regard  to  which  he  wishes  to  refresh  his  memory,  as  he  would  to  a 
dictionary  for  the  definition  of  a  word.  Nearly  every  subject  treated  in 
the  books  which  form  the  basis  of  this,  is  touched  upon;  but  those  which 
are  of  minor  importance  are  very  brief,  and  those  of  greater  utility 
handled  more  at  length.  Articles  rarely  recurred  to  will  be  found  here; 
but  it  is  not  burdened  with  any  thing  that  is  altogether  useless. 

3.  In  Theology,  the  general  plan  of  Buck's  Dictionary  is  followed  ;  espe- 
cially in  its  evangelical  cast  and  Christian  candour,  in  its  copious  illus- 
trations of  important  topics,  and  its  valuable  references  to  the  iest 
works  on  both  sides  of  the  question.  Watson,  Jones,  and  others,  how- 
ever, have  supplied  us  occasionally  with  articles  of  superior  value. 

[j^  The  edition  of  Buck  which  has  been  used  is  the  new  one  lately 
published  in  England,  edited  by  Professor  Henderson,  who  has  added 
nearly  five  hundred  new  articles,  which  will  be  found  incorporated  in 
this. 

4.  The  accomits  of  the  History.  Doctrines,  <^c.  of  different  denominations, 
have  been  prepared  with  an  aim  at  the  strictest  impartiality.  Where  it 
teas  practicable,  some  leading  m.an  of  the  principal  sects  existing  in  this 
country  has  been  employed  to  prepare  the  article  relating  to  it;  and  where 
it  has  not  been,  the  matter  has  been  draw7i  from  some  one  or  more  promi- 
nent  writer  of  the  denomination,  of  acknowledged  authority.  The  work 
DOES  NOT  AIM  TO  EFFECT  A  COMPROMISE  of  opiniou  among  the  different 
denominations  of  Christians,  but  to  present  the  views  of^  each  fully,  and 
in  their  own  words,  leaving  the  reader  to  form  his  own  conclusions  as 
to  which  is  most  correct.  This  must  be  a  truly  acceptable  course  to  all  who 
can  respond  to  the  sentiment  quoted  by  Robert  Hall,  ^^  Amicus  Plato^ 
amicus  Socrates,  sed  magis  arnica  Veritas." 

The  following  are  some  of  the  contributors  under  this  head; — 

Baptism.  Pedohaptist  Views,  Rev.  J.  Tracy,  Editor  of  the  Boston  Re- 
corder. Baptist  Views,  Rev.  J.  D.  Knowles,  Professor  in  tiie  Newton 
Theological  Institution. 


(     19     ) 

Baptists.  Prepared  under  the  revision  and  sanction  of  Rev.  Dr.  Sharp 
Boston.  '^' 

CongregationaRsts.  Prepared  by  a  member,  and  revised  and  sanctioned 
by  Rev.  Prof.  Emerson,  of  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  and  Rev.  Dr. 
Wisner,  of  Boston. 

Christians.     Rev.  J.  V.  Himes,  Boston. 

Disciples  of  Christ,  or  Reformers.  Alexander  Campbell,  of  Bethany, 
Virginia. 

Free  Will  Baptists,  Rev.  S.  Beede,  Editor  of  the  Morninff  Star, 
Dover,  N.  H.  &  » 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Rev.  S.  W.  Willson,  Editor  of  Zion'a 
Herald,  Boston. 

Presbyterians.     Rev.  Dr.  Miller,  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church.    Rev.  Mr.  Boyle,  presbyter,  of  Boston. 

Protestant  Methodist  Church,  Rev.  T.  F.  Norris,  President  of  the  New 
England  Conference. 

Unitarians.     Rev.  Prof.  Palfrey. 

Universalists.     Rev.  L.  R.  Paige. 

Universal  Restorationists.    Rev.  Paul  Dean. 

5.  To  adapt  it  to  popular  use,  all  words  in  foreign  languages  have  been 
omitted;  or  where  Hebrew,  Chaldee,  and  Greek  terms  unlivoidably  oc- 
cur, they  are  given  in  English  characters. 

6.  Scripture  Biography,  which  occupies  a  large  space  in  most  Bible  Die- 
tionuiies,  is  handled  here  in  the  briefest  manner  possible — giving  only  the 
characteristic  outlines,  except  when  difficulties  occur  which'require  to 
be  cleared  up. 

7.  In  consequence  of  the  space  thus  gained,  the  new  department  of  Re- 
iigious  Biography  is  made  full  and  extensive;  embracing,  it  is  believed, 
every  distinguished  religious  writer,  preacher,  and  character,  including 
the  most  distinguished  females,  and  those  philanthropists  who  were 
actuated  by  religious  principles.  Every  denomination  will  find  here 
notices  of  its  most  illustrious  men,  especially  such  as  have  lived  and  died 
in  this  country,  from  its  settlement  to  this  time.  To  every  notice  of  an 
author  a  list  of  his  principal  writings  (so  far  as  possible)  is  given,  with  a 
reference  to  the  best  biographies  of  the  individual. 

8.  .45  a  Dictionary  and  Gazetteer  of  the  Bible,  the  work  will  be  found, 
it  is  believed,  more  copious  and  accurate  than  any  other  now  in  use, 
adapting  it  to  the  wants  of  the  Pulpit  and  of  Sabbatii  Schools.  In 
the  notices  of  the  various  cities  and  countries  mentioned  in  the  Bible, 
the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  regarding  them,  so  far  as  developed,  are 
particularly  noticed. 

9.  The  object  of  the  Encyclopedia  being  to  do  good  on  evangelical 
principles,  the  work  preserves  throughout,  as  far  as  possible,  a  devotional 
and  practical,  as  well  as  a  critical,  picturesque,  and  popular  character, 
that  it  may  minister  to  the  heart,  no  less  than  to  the  judgment  and  the 
imagination. 

10.  Maps  and  Engravings,  as  well  as  Wood  Cuts,  have  been  added 
to  enrich  and  adorn,  as  well  as  illustrate,  the  work. 

On  the  v.hole,  the  amount  of  information  imbodied  in  this  work  is 
immense,  and  it  is  hoped  the  matter,  by  collation.,  arrangement,  abridg- 
ment, and  addition,  has  been  very  greatly  improved;  and  while  itwill  be 
found  interesting  and  valuable  to  Families,  and  those  individuals  who 
only  desire   to  acquire  general   knoiclcdge,  to  the  Sabbath    School 


(   ^20 

Teacher  and  Bible  Class  Leader  it  cannot  but  prove  an  invaluable 
treasure. 


NOTICES  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

OF  THE 

ENCYCLOPEDIA   OF   RELIGIOUS   KNOWLEDGE. 

*  The  EncyclopaBdia  of  Religious  Knowledge  is,  upon  the  whole,  a 
valuable  book  of  reference,  and  the  theological  articles  are,  in  the  main, 
good.  The  work  is  rich  in  biographical  notices,  and  contains  much  use- 
ful information  respecting  the  tenets  of  different  sects,  which  in  most 
cases  is  supplied  by  their  own  writers.  The  theological  student  will  find 
it  a  convenient  and  useful  companion.         A.  ALEXANDER,  D.  D. 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  JV.  J.' 

'I  regard  the  Ency.  of  Rel.  Knowledge  as  a  vefy  valuable  book  of  re- 
ference. While  it  is  particularly  convenient  and  useful  to  ministers  of 
the  gospel,  it  will  be  found  to  be  very  entertaining  and  instructive  to 
others,  and  is  well  worthy  of  a  place  in  every  family  library. 

B.  TYLER,  D.  D. 
Pres.  of  E.  Windsor  Theol.  Institute,  Conn.' 

*I  have  examined  the  Ency.  of  Rel.  Knowledge  in  sundry  of  its  arti- 
cles; and  holding  in  my  library  its  principal  authorities,  I  am  ready  to 
say  that  1  much  approve  it.  We  have  no  work  which  contains,  a.nd  judi- 
ciously contains,  so  much  informing  matter  at  so  moderate  a  price. 

Rev.  JONATHAN  HOMER,  D.  D. 

Newton,  Mass.* 

'This  volume  is  certainly  an  exception  to  the  general  style  in  which 
compends,  summaries,  and  Encys.  are  manufactured  among  us.^  It 
bears  the  marks  of  care,  honest  research,  and  accurate  statement.  The 
commendable  practice  is  followed  of  giving  the  authorities  at  the  close 
of  each  article. 

It  is  not  a  bookselling  expedient,  prepared  in  the  haste  of  a  plagiary 
from  English  works;  but  in  part  original,  and  in  part  condensed,  and  ac- 
commodated to  suit  the  general  intention  of  the  volume.  The  depart- 
ment of  religious  biography  is  very  complete ;—  a  field  of  labour  in  which 
the  American  Encyclopaedia  is  notoriously  deficient.  Candour  and  good 
judgment  are  here  manifested. 

On  the  whole,  we  heartily  commend  this  publication  to  our  readers. 
It  will  repay  many  fold  the  cost  of  its  purchase.  J\'o  single  volume  in 
the  language,  so  far  as  toe  knoio,  contains  a  larger  amount  of  valu- 
able knowledge.'     [Biblical  Repository  and  Quarterly  Observer. 

*  We  are  confident  that  this  must  be  a  valuable  acquisition  to  any 
man's  library:  and  one  who  expects  to  purchase  and  use  much  hteralure 
of  this  sort,  we  are  equally  confident,  will  save  both  money  and  time  by 
subscribing  for  this. 

We  iiave  Encys.  in  other  departments  of  science;  but  we  do  not 
know  that  any  thing  in  the  form  of  a  Religious  Ency.  has  ever  been 
published  in  this,  or  any  other  country.  A  work  of  this  kind  has  there- 
fore been  a  great  desideratum  in  the  religious  and  reading  community. 


(     21     ) 

So  far  as  we  have  examined  it — and  we  have  devoted  some  lime  and 
care  to  the  subject — the  book  fulfils  the  large  promise  of  the  title  quite 
as  well  a§  could  reasonably  be  expected.  It  is  a  vast  storehouse  of  in- 
formation— all  the  subjects  indicated,  judiciously  selected — condensed, 
perspicuous,  and  well  arranged;  and,  what  is  of  great  importance,  with 
references,  at  the  end  of  the  more  important  articles,  to  works  from 
which  more  particular  information  may  be  obtained.  The  work  is  hand- 
somely printed,  on  good  paper;  the  type  is  clean  and  fair,  and  sufficient- 
ly large.  On  the  whole,  it  is  entirehj  beyond  any  thing  else  extant  as  a 
convenient  book  of  reference  for  clergymen,  teachers  of  Bible  classes 
and  Sabbath  schools,  and  all,  in  fact,  who  wish  for  any  book  of  reference 
of  the  kind  to  assist  them  in  their  biblical  *and  religious  reading.  It  is 
marvellously  cheap.  We  recommend  it  confidently.  It  will  not  disap- 
point any  reasonable  expectations.'  [Vt.  Chronicle. 

*  A  very  useful  work,  1300  imp.  8vo.  pages.  Its  usefulness  in  the  fa- 
tnily,  in  reading  religious  intelligence  and  other  publications,  and  in 
writing  on  religious  subjects,  is  obvious.  The  price,  for  so  large  a  vo- 
lume, prepared  with  so  much  labour,  must  be  acknowledged  very  rea- 
sonable— cheap.^  [JV.  Y.  Evangelist. 

'The  editorial  execution  altogether  surpasses  my  expectations,  and  I 
am  persuaded  the  work  will  be  extensively  popular. 

Rev.  GEO.  BUSH. 
Prof,  of  Ori.  Lit.  in  JV.  Y.  City  University.' 

*lts  plan  is  very  comprehensive,  and  embraces  a  variety  of  informa- 
tion respecting  the  state  of  religion  throughout  the  world,  which  cannot 
be  obtained  except  by  recourse  to  a  great  number  of  original  sources. 

In  regard  to  the  different  denominations  in  our  own  country,  it  is  ne- 
cessary only  to  recur  to  the  names  of  the  gentlemen  who  furnish  the  ac- 
counts of  them,  to  obtain  full  confidence  in  the  fidelity  with  which  those 
accounts  may  be  expected  to  be  composed.'—  Boston  Christian  Register. 

This  work  contains  in  itself  a  religious  library,-  and  as  such  we 
consider  it  one  of  great  value  to  the  Christian  public. 

The  plan  of.it  is  happily  adapted  to  make  it  a  book  of  reference,  a  con- 
venient substitute,  and  more  than  a  substitute  for  many  volumes  which 
Christian  readers  have  heretofore  had  occasion  to  consult.  And  from 
an  examination  of  a  large  number  of  articles,  the  plan  appears  to  have 
been  well  executed.  Many  of  the  original  articles  are  ably  written. 
Those  condensed  from  other  works  were  evidently  prepared  with  great 
care  and  attention,  and  show  the  result  of  extensive  reading  and  pa- 
tient research. 

Its  cheapness  strongly  commends  it  to  public  favour.' 

[^Southern  Rel.  Telegraphy  Richmond,  Va. 

'The  Encyclopedia  of  Religious  Knowledge  is  deservedly  having  a  large 
sale.'  [Boston  Recorder. 

'Though  it  is  a  large  volume,  yet  in  view  of  its  variety  and  compre- 
hensiveness, it  is  multum  in  parro, — much  in  a  small  space, — an  ocean 
of  matter  in  a  drop  of  words.  The  work  has  been  compiled  with  im- 
mense labour,  with  sreat  accuracy  and  uncommon  impartiality.  Mr. 
Brown  has  performed  his  difficult  and  delicate  task  in  a  judicious  man- 
ner— in  a  manner  to  highly  promote  the  public  benefit,  and  to  entitle  him 


(     28     ) 

to  the  approbation  and  gratitude  of  the  community.  We  are  happy  to 
add,  that  the  work  has  been  got  up  in  a  handsome  style,  and  in  good 
taste.  We  should  sincerely  hope,  that  the  cause  of  truth  and  the  inte- 
rest of  the  religious  public  may  be  promoted  by  its  extensive  circula- 
tion. It  should  be  a  companion  to  the  Bible  in  every  family;  it  should 
find  a  place  in  the  library  of  every  Sunday  school  teacher;  and  we  ven- 
ture little  in  saying  that,  as  a  v.'ork  of  reference,  the  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel would  find  it  convenient  and  useful.' — American  Baptist  (jV.  F.) 

'The  object  of  the  work  is  to  condense  into  one  volume  the  most  im- 
portant matter  now  scattered  throughout  many  expensive  publications. 
The  compiler  appears  to  have  executed  his  task  with  commendable  dili- 
gence and  good  judgment.  It  requires  more  than  ordinary  wisdom,  in 
compiling  such  a  work,  lo  determine  what  to  reject  and  what  to  retain. 
As  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  examine  the  work,  we  think  the  author 
deserves  the  credit  of  a  faithful  and  judicious  compiler. —  We  deem  the 
work  worthy  of  extensive  patronage.  It  is  well  executed,  on  good  paper, 
and  illustrated  with  engravings  and  wood  cuts;  and  we  hope  the  enter- 
prising publishers  will  be  well  repaid  for  their  expenditure  on  this  praise- 
worthy and  expensive  work.'  iRichmond  Rel.  Herald. 

'The  general  execution  of  the  work  is  decidedly  good.  We  recom- 
mend it  for  its  general  excellence,  as  a  most  useful  book  of  reference,  to 
families  which  desire  information  on  religious  subjects.' 

\_Presbyierian  {Philadelphia.) 

'This  work  is  emphatically  what  its  title  imports,  a  repository  of  every 
description  of  religious  knowledge,  alphabetically  arranged,  for  easy  and 
familiar  reference.  It  seems  to  embrace  just  that  kind  of  knowledge 
which  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  the  curious  and  enlightened 
Christian  of  every  denomination,  requires,  relative  to  the  Bible,  theology, 
religious  biography,  ecclesiastical  history,  missions  and  all  religions. 
The  amount  of  matter  embraced  in  about  1300  large  octavo  pages^on 
these  subjects  is  incalculable — enough,  we  should  think,  to  fill  15  or  20 
volumes  of  the  Family  Library.  We  consider  it,  in  fact,  if  not  the  only, 
the  most  recent,  comprehensive,  illustrative,  and  trustworthy  work  of 
reference  on  all  denominational  points,  and  topics  adverted  to  above, 
extant.  It  is  designed  as  a  complete  book  of  reference  on  all  religious 
subjects,  and  companion  to  the  Bible,  forming  a  compact  library  of  reli- 
gious knowledge:  and  when  its  excellence  is  fully  known,  it  will,  we 
doubt  not,  find  a  place  in  almost  every  Christian  family.' 

[JV.  y.  Weekly  Messenger.     , 

*  We  have  recently  procured  a  copy  of  this  excellent  work; — it  is  just 
such  a  work  as  the  religious  public  have  long  needed.  It  fills  a  place 
that  is  not  occupied  by  any  other  icork  in  the  English  language.  We 
wish  one  could  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  every  minister  of  the  gospel 
throughout  our  country.  This  one  volume  would  be  to  him  a  valuable 
library  of  religious  knowledge;  he  might  accumulate  a  great  variety  of 
books  before  he  could  otherwise  obtain  the  information  which  he  needs 
upon  various  points,  and  which  would  be  directly  available  in  the  great 
work  in  which  he  is  engaged.  Here  he  has  a  condensed,  but  accurate 
and  satisfactory  view  of  the  religious  customs  and  sentiments  of  the  dif- 
ferent denominations  of  Christians;  and,  notwithstanding  their  number 
and  diversity,  he  can  in  this  volume  hear  them  nearly  all  speak  their 
own  language  and  assign  their  own  reasons. 


(     23    ■) 

But  besides  information  with  regard  to  different  religions,  and  the  dif- 
ferent denominations  of  the  Christian  religion,  the  minister  of  Christ 
may  here  find  a  distinct  and  evangelical  statement  of  the  o-reat  leadintr 
doctrines  of  the  Scriptures;  which  will  be  no  small  advantage  to  any 
who  may  have  had  to  enter  upon  the  ministry  with  but  little  prepara- 
tion. 

On  the  same  account,  this  work  recommends  itself  as  a  most  impor- 
tant help  to  every  Bible  class  and  Sabbath  school  teacher.  Indeed, 
every  head  of  a  family,  who  wishes  to  acquire  and  impart  to  his  children 
correct  and  enlightened  views  upon  religious  subjects  in  general,  should 
have  in  his  library  this  Encycloprcdia.  Were  tliis  generally  the  case,  we 
might  soon  expect  to  see  a  higher  degree  of  religious  knowledcre  in  cir- 
culation, and  fewer  misconceptions  and  misrepresentations  respecting 
the  sentiments  of  different  religious  denominations.* 

[Zions  Jidvocate  {Portland.) 

*Few  works  of  more  value  can  be  named,  even  in  this  time  of  con- 
densing books.  For  theological  students  as  a  book  of  reference,  and  as 
a  family  book  for  youths,  to  which  they  may  devote  their  evenings,  and 
imbibe  correct  information  upon  the  almost  boundless  field  of  survey 
which  is  connected  with  the  moral  and  religious  condition  of  mankind, 
it  is  unequalled  in  variety  and  amplitude  of  knowledge.  We  have  ex- 
tensively searched  the  articles  of  which  it  is  composed;  and  can  attest 
to  the  general  fidelity  with  which  the  work  has  been  compiled.  We 
have  ascertained  that  the  Ency.  of  Kel.  Knowledge  comprehends  the 
substance  of  FIFTY  valuable  works;  all  of  which  formerly  were  consi- 
dered necessary  to  the  library  not  only  of  a  scholar,  but  also  of  all  Chris- 
tians who  were  anxious  to  obtain  accurate  and  enlarged  information  of 
scriptural  truth  and  ecclesiastical  history.  We  can  conceive  of  nothing 
more  beneficial  to  the  American  churches  than  this  laborious  and  grand 
scheme  for  the  diffusion  of  religious  knowledge, 

[JV.  Y.  Protestant  Vindicator. 

{From  the  Literary  and  Theological  Review,  {JVew  York,)  edited  by  Rev. 

Leonard  Woods,  Jr.) 

'  It  is  enough  to  say  in  commendation  of  it,  that  it  fulfils  the  promise 
set  forth  in  its  long,  descriptive,  comprehensive  title.  The  original  arti- 
cles contained  in  it  are  numerous,  and  of  great  value.  The  mechanical 
execution  is  excellent,  and  the  whole  constitutes,  we  have  no  doubt,  the 
completest  and  most  valuable  book  of  reference,  adapted  to  the  use  of 
families,  Sunday  school  teachers,  and  ministers  of  the  gospel,  that  has 
ever  been  prepared  and  published  in  this  country.' 

(From  the  New  York  Observer.) 

*This  volume  is  on  a  plan  which  we  believe  to  be  original,  and  which 
cannot  fail,  if  its  execution  be  judicious  and  faithful,  to  secure  to  the 
work  extensive  popularity  and  usefulness.  So  far  as  we  have  examined 
the  articles  in  the  work,  with  a  few  exceptions  we  think  favourably  of 
the  skill,  judgment  and  fidelity  with  which  it  has  been  executed.  The 
names  of  several  of  the  original  contributors  arc  sufficient  to  warrant  the 
highest  expectations  concerning  the  articles  which  they  have  prepared.' 


(     24     ) 
LIPPINCOTT'S  EDITION 

OF 

THE    OXFORD   QUARTO   BIBLE. 

The  publishers  have  spared  neither  care  nor  expense  in  their  edition 
of  the  Bible,  it  is  printed  on  the  finest  white  vellum  paper  with  large  and 
beautiful  type,  and  bound  in  the  most  substanial  and  splendid  manner, 
in  the  following  styles: — Velvet,  with  richly t  gilt  ornaments;  Turkey, 
super  extra,  with  gilt  clasps,  and  in  numerous  others  to  suit  the  taste  of 
the  most  fastidious. 


Opinions  of  the  Press. 


"  In  our  opinion,  the  Christian  public  generally  will  feel  under  great 
obligations  to  the  publishers  of  this  work,  for  the  beautiful  taste,  arrange- 
ment, and  delicate  neatness  with  which  they  have  got  it  out.  The  in- 
trinsic merit  of  the  Bible  recommends  itself.  It  needs  no  tinsel  orna- 
ment to  adorn  its  sacred  pages.  In  this  edition  every  superfluous  ap- 
pendage has  been  avoided,  and  we  have  presented  us,  a  perfectly  chaste, 
specimen  of  the  Bible  without  note  or  comment.  It  appears  to  be  just 
what  is  needed  in  every  family,  'the  unsophisticated  word  of  God.' 

"The  size  is  quarto,  printed  with  beautiful  type,  on  white  sized  vellum 
paper  of  the  finest  texture,  and  most  beautiful  surface. 

"The  publishers  seem  to  have  been  solicitous  to  make  a  perfectly 
unique  book,  and  they  have  accomplished  the  object  very  successfully, 
We  trust  that  a  liberal  community  will  afford  them  ample  remuneration 
for  all  the  expense  and  outlay  they  have  necessarily  incurred  in  its  pub- 
lication.    It  is  a  standard  Bible. 

"  The  publishers  are  Messrs.  J.  B.  Lippincott  &  Co.,  corner  of  4th  and 
Race  Streets,  Philadelphia." — Bapt.  Record. 

"A  beautiful  quarto  edition  of  the  Bible,  by  J.  B.  Lippincott  &  Co. 
Nothing  can  exceed  the  type  in  clearness  and  beauty;  the  paper  is  of 
the  finest  texture;  and  the  whole  execution  is  exceedingly  neat.  No 
illustrations  or  ornamental  type  are  used.  Those  who  prefer  a  Bible 
executed  in  perfect  simplicity,  yet  elegance  of  style,  without  adornment, 
will  probably  never  find  one  more  to  their  taste." — M.  Magazine. 


THE   COMPANION   TO  THE   BIBLE, 

Designed  to  accompany  the  Family  Bible,  or  Henry's,  Scott's,  Clarke's, 
Gill's,  or  other  commentaries. 

II.  jJ  new,  full,  and  complete  concordance ;  illustrated  with  monumental, 
traditional,  and  oriental  engravings,  founded  on  Butterworth's,  with 
Cruden's  definitions;  forming,  it  is  believed,  on  many  accounts,  a  more 
valuable  work  than  either  I3utterworth,  Cruden,  or  any  otiier  similar 
book  in  the  language. 

The  value  of  a  concordance  is  now  generally  understood,  and  those 
who  have  used  one,  consider  it  indispensable  in  connexion  with  the 
Bible. 


,J 


TP 


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